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WORLD OF WONDERS. 



WORLD OF WONDERS, 



WITH 



ANECDOTES AND OPINIONS 



CONCERNING 



POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS 



t » 



LONDON: 

RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON-STREET, 
¥ubli£(f)er in <©rtJinar» to Sjer iWaje^tw. 

1853. 






PREFACE. 



It is surprising, considering the gigantic strides 
effected by modern science, how many o£ the 
errors and prejudices engendered by the ignorance 
of the dark ages remain current in the world in its 
present days of enlightenment. Like the winged 
seeds of certain weeds, their light and impalpable 
nature renders them only the more difficult of ex- 
tirpation. 

A cursory review and refutation of these popular 
prejudices and vulgar errors has been attempted in 
the following Manual. A more scientific analysis 
of so spreading a field would have expanded into a 
Cyclopaedia. But the ancient traditions and modem 
instances collected in its pages may afford the reader 
amusement and instruction for the passing hour, as 
well as an incentive to more profound investigations 
in hours to come. 



LONDON, 
NOVEMBER, 1845. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAOS 

LONGBVITT OF ANIMALS . . . I 10 

CHAPTER II. 

INCOMBUSTIBLB MEN .... H 22 

CHAPTER III. 

VENTRILOQUISTS .... 23 31 

CHAPTER IV. 

POPE JOAN AND THE WANDEBIN6 JEW . 32 36 

CHAPTER V. 

THE FABLES OF HISTORY . . . 37..-^5 

CHAPTER VI. 

MELONS AND MONSTERS . . . 46 53 

CHAPTER VII. 

54—60 




CHAPTER VIII. 



VERBAL DBLICACV 

CHAPTER IX. 

ABttOLtTB8 AND UIBACULODB SBOWEBS 

CHAPTER X. 

NOSTBVHS AND BFBCIFICS 

CHAPTER XI. 



CHAPTER XII. 



CHAPTER XHI. 

THB ANTIPODES— HORN I NO AND EVENING 

CHAPTER XIV. 

PBKPETUAL LAMPS AND ASCHIMBDES 

CHAPTER XV. 
THE Lynx and tbb cahblbon 

CHAPTER XVI. 

HLD WOHBN . . . . 

CHAPTER XVn. 

VBILH . . , . 



CONTENTS. IX 



CHAPTER XVIIL 

vAom 

FORTUNE-TELLERS AND CHIROMANCY • . 124 130 

CHAPTER XIX. 

ALBERTUS MAGNUS AND NOSTRADAMUS . . 131 137 

CHAPTER XX. 

LEECHES, SERPENTS, AND THE SONG OP THE 

DYING SWAN .... 138 — 146 

CHAPTER XXI. 

NEGROES ..... 147 160 

CHAPTER XXII. 

fascination; or, the art of pleasing . 161—170 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

the philosopher's stone . . • 171 — 177 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

giants and dwarfs .... 178 — 183 

CHAFFER XXV. 

ASTROLOGY .... 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE MOON AND LUNAR INFLUENCE . . 191 193 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

JCPPARITIONS . . . . • 194 201 



. 184—190 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

PAOX 

NOBILITY AND TBADE . . . 202 — 208 

« 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

MERIT AND POPULARITY . • . 209 — 219 • 

CHAPTER XXX. 
COMETS ...... 220—223 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

POPULAR ERRORS » . • . 224 232 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
DREAMS ..... 233 — 237 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

PREJUDICES ATTACHED TO CERTAIN ANIMALS . 238 243 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

CONTENT AND COURTESY . . . 244 — 248 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE DIVINING ROD .... 249 — 254 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

BEES AND ANTS .... 255 — -260 

CHAPTER XXXVIL 

PREPOSSESSIONS AND ANTIPATHIES . . 261 265 



CONTENTS. 



XI 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



PAOB 



THE INFLUBNCE OF BELLS UPON THUNDER STORMS 266 — 269 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

SMALL POX AND VACCINATION 

CriAPTER XL. 

PRECOCIOUS AND CLEVER CHILDREN 



. 270—273 



. 274—279 



CHAPTER XLI. 



EDUCATION OF CHILDREN 



280—282 



CHAPTER XLII. 



PREJUDICES OF THE FRENCH 



283—288 



CHAPTER XLIII. 



MONSTROUS BIRTHS 



289—293 



CHAPTER XLIV. 



THE ICHNEUMON AND THE HALCYON 



294—295 



CHAPTER XLV. 

SORCERERS AND MAGICIANS 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

MALE AND FEMALE 



296—300 



301—307 



CHAPTER XLVII. 



MINOR SUPERSTITIONS 



308—309 



^ 



XU CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 

VAOB 

SOMNAMBULISM . . . • 310 — ^314 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

A FBW MORB WOBDS ABOUT GHOSTi AND VAM- 

FIRBS, AKD LOUP-OABOUX . 315 — 344 

CHAPTER L. 

APOCBTPHAL ANIMALS • . . . 345—352 

CHAPTER LI. 

PBOFBSSIONS BSTBBMBD INFAMOUS . 353 — 356 

CHAPTER LH. 

SUPBBNATUBAL HUMAN BBINGS . . 357 361 



WOKLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER I. 



LONGEVITY OF ANIMALS. 



Most scholars, are familiar mth the quotation 
" cervi dicuntur diutissime vivere," which has 
rendered proverbial the longevity of the stag. Among 
birds, crows and parrots have also been said to attain 
miraculous length of days ; among fishes, the carp 
and pike ; among reptiles, the tortoise. But modern 
investigation has sufficiently proved that the number 
of centuries, variously assigned as the natural age of 
these birds, beasts and fishes, was, in the first 
instance, the invention of poets and fabulists, carelessly 
adopted as authentic by lovers of the marvellous. 

It is now ascertained that aloes frequently flower 
three times in a hundred years, and that three 
^ B 



2 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

generations of the stag are included within the same 
space of time. 

Hesiod, an ancient Greek poet whose works have 
only partially reached us, was the first to institute a 
comparative inquiry into the age of the crow and the 
stag. Hesiod assigns eighty-six years as the average 
span of human life; yet he asseiis that the rook 
attains eight hundred and sixty-four years, and the 
crow thrice as many. Towards the stag, he is still more 
liberal ; declaring that these animals have been known 
to attain their thirty-fifth century. Considering the 
age we assign to the world itself when Hesiod 
flourished in it, no great experience as to the average 
existence of so sempiternal an animal could have 
influenced his opinion. 

According to many ancient writers besides Hesiod, 
the stag is the longest lived of animals ; and the 
Egyptians have adopted it as the emblem of longevity. 
Pliny relates that one hundred years after the death 
of Alexander, several stags were taken in the different 
forests of Macedonia, to whose necks that great 
monarch had, with his own hand, attached collars. 
This extension of existence is, however, scarcely 
worth recording, in comparison with the instance 
commemorated by French historians, of a stag taken 
in the forest of Senlis, in the year 1037; having a 
collar round its neck on which was inscribed, " Caesar 
hoc me donavit." 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 3 

A miracTilous interpretation was assigned to this 
inscription, which has consequently formed the 
ground-work of a popular error in France. The 
" Caesar" of the legend was admitted, without further 
examination, to be Julius Caesar, thereby aflotting 
ten centuries as the age of the animal ; nay, seventy- 
seven years more, seeing that Julius Caesar conquered 
Gaul forty-two years before the birth of. Christ. 
Nevertheless since the days of Julius, the title of 
Caesar had been bestowed on a sufficient number of 
imperial pot^itates to explain the inscription on the 
collar upon more rational grounds : the Caesar who 
had thus adorned the stag being in all probability 
its contemporary. But this was too simple an 
interpretation to be acceptable to those wonder^seeldng 
times. 

Aristotle decided the age of the stag, not from 
the showing of poets and traditions, but from the 
indications of experiment. Having dissected a 
considerable number of these animals, he pronounced 
their ordinary age to be was from thirty to thirty-six 
years. Buffon was of a simaar opinion, which has 
been adopted by most succeeding naturalists. It 
has been established as a law of comparative 
physiology, that the life of a mammiferous animal is 
in proportion to its period of gestation, and the 
diu^tion of its growth. The sheep and goat, who 
bear their young five months, and whose growth lasts 

B 2 



4 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

two years, live from eight to ten. The horse, which 
is borne ten months, and whose growth requires from 
five to six years, lives from thirty to forty. We are, 
of course, speaking of the horse in its natiu^ state, 
uninjured by premature and excessive labour. When 
submitted to the hands of man, the noble animal is 
condemned to premature old age, by the application 
of spur and thong before it attains sufficient strength 
for the unnatural speed it is compelled to attempt, and 
the burthens it is forced to bear. Nor, even under 
these circumstances, is it allowed to attain the span of 
life assigned by nature ; the hand of the knacker 
being put in request to end its days, the moment its 
services cease to be profitable to its master. 

The camel, which is borne ten months, and requires 
four years for its bodily development, usually attains 
the age of fifty. The elephant, requiring a year's 
gestation, attains the climax of its growth at thirty, 
and lives to a himdred. The gestation of a stag, 
therefore, being but of eight months, there is no 
reason to infer a deviation in its favour from the laws 
governing the nature of all other animals of the same 
genus. 

" The stag," says Buffon, " whose growth requires 
six years, lives from thirty to forty. The prodigious 
age originally ascribed to this animal, is a groundless 
invention of the poets, of which Aristotle demon- 
strated the absurdity." 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 5 

A variety of instances of the miraculous longevity of 
animals may be found in the works of the early German 
naturalists. It is related in the collection of Voyages 
and Travels of Malte Brun, on the showing of these 
authorities, that the Emperor Frederick 11. having 
been presented with a singularly fine pike, caused it 
to be thrown into a pond adjoining his palace of 
Kaiserslautem, after affixing to it a collar bearing the 
the following Greek inscription : " I am the first fish 
cast into this pond by the hands of the Emperor 
Frederick 11. ; • October 5th, 1 230." 

After remaining two hundred and sixty years in the 
pond, the pike was taken in 1497, and carried to 
Heidelberg, to be served at the table of the Elector 
Philip ; when the collar and inscription were subjected 
to the examination of the curious. The pike, at that 
time, weighed three hundred and fifty pounds, and was 
nineteen feet in length — a miraculous fish in every 
respect ; for how are we to suppose that an inscription 
upon an elastic collar would otherwise remain legible 
at the close of . several centuries ? This story is 
evidently one of the marvels that figure so profusely 
in the chronicles of old Germany during the middle 
ages. 

It has, however, often been asserted that aquatic 
animals are longer-lived than others, from being 
cold-blooded, and losing nothing fi-om transpiration ; 
though, fi-om their peculiar natiu-e, the fact is 



6 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

very difficult of demonstration. Fordyce made 
some curious experiments upon the tenacity of life 
in fishes; by placing gold fishes in a variety of 
vessels filled with water ; which, at first, he refi^shed 
every day ; then, every third day, with which 
refi'eshment, and without other nourishment, they 
lived for fifteen months. He next distilled the 
water ; increased the proportion of air in the vessels ; 
and closed the apertures, so that no insect could 
possibly penetrate. Nevertheless, the fish lived 
as before, and were in good condition. - 

The experimentalist now decided that the decom- 
position of the air afforded them sufficient nutriment ; 
by this theory invalidating the proverb * that it is 
impossible to live on air.' 

Without impugning the authenticity of these 
experiments, or the easy sustenance of fishes, we 
may be permitted to observe that a variety of 
circumstances are unfavourable to the fact of their 
miraculous longevity. In the first place, their orga- 
nization, especially that of the carp which is supposed 
to be one of the longest-lived of fishes, is peculiarly 
delicate ; and the muscular effort to move in an 
element eight hundred times heavier than atmospheric 
air, must be apt to exhaust the energies of life. 
Such are the suggestions of common sense ; too 
often unavailing against the marvels of tradition, 
accepted by the credulity of mankind. 



J 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 7 

The Parisians delight in boasting of the age of 
the venerable carp in the reservoirs at Fontainebleau 
and Chantilly ; the former especially, as contemporary 
with Francis I. Other credulous persons declare 
that there exist gigantic carp many centuries old, 
in the water beneath the Cathedral of Strasbourg-— 
a fact easily asserted because impossible to disprove. 

With respect to the tame old carp at Fontainebleau, 
which come to the surface of the water to be fed 
by every visitor to that curious old palace, the only 
grounds for asserting their great age is the inconclu- 
sive fact, that there were tame old grey carp in the 
moat of Fontainebleau in the reign of Francis I., as 
at the present time. But who is to prove that they 
are identical ? There were also troops and courtiers 
at Fontainebleau at both epochs, whom it would 
be just as reasonable to assert were the same persons. 
The only difference is that the generations of men 
are visibly renewed ; while the carp in the old moat 
slip away imnoticed, and are succeeded by a younger 

fry- 

The longevity of certain species of the feathered 
kind has been just as much exaggerated as that 
of the stag and the carp. Willoughby states in his 
work on Ornithology, that a friend of his possessed 
a gander eighty years of age ; which in the end 
became so ferocious that they were forced to kill it, 
in consequence of the havock it committed in the 



8 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

barn-yard. He also talks of a swan three centuries 
old ; and several celebrated parrots are said to have 
attained from one hundred to one hundred and fifty 
years. 

The experiments of able naturalists afford the 
best answer to such statements. According to the 
best established authorities, pigeons, fowls, and ducks, 
live, in a natural state, from ten to twelve years. 
Magpies, crows, and jays, evince symptoms of 
caducity at the same age. Professor Hufeland, of 
Jena, who has devoted considerable time and atten- 
tion to the study of the duration of Ufe, assures us 
that the great eagle, and other birds of the larger 
kind, such as the pelican and ostrich, are very long- 
lived and of vigorous constitution. Specimens of 
the eagle tribe have been known, however, to survive 
in a menagerie upwards of a hundred years. 

Hufeland relates that a Mr. Selwand, of London, 
received in 1793, from the Cape of Good Hope, 
a falcon wearing a golden collar inscribed " To His 
Majesty, King James of England, 1610." The bird was 
supposed to have belonged to James I., and having 
escaped from its keepers, in order to avoid recapture, 
to have traversed Em"ope and Africa, to end its days 
in a state of nature among the Hottentots ! Destiny, 
however, was not to be defied ; and the prisoner was 
recaptured in its old age, and sent back to England. 
This incident probably originated in a hoax upon 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 9 

the credulity of Mr. Selwand, practised by one of 
his colonial correspondents. Moreover, Hufeland, 
after publishing his conviction of the prodigious 
longevity of the eagle tribe, was himself very likely 
to become the object of one of those mystifications, 
for which the supporters of new theories are con- 
sidered fair game. 

Credulity is imfortunately a weakness common to 
the human race; and a tendency to exaggeration 
is scarcely less universal. Between the two failings, 
monstrous stories obtain circulation ; and as it 
is easier to assent than examine, the world becomes 
overrun with errors and prejudices. A curious 
anecdote related from mouth to mouth, becomes 
exaggerated into a miracle. Thus, as regards 
the longevity of parrots, a bird of this species 
which happens to survive three generations of the 
same family, though the period may not exceed 
thirty years, is talked of in the circle of their 
acquaintance as a Nestor or Methuselah; till, at 
last, from exaggeration to exaggeration, its age 
becomes converted into a miracle. No one, however, 
can personally attest the age of a parrot beyond fifty 
or sixty years. All the rest must be hearsay. 

Among curious examples of longevity in animals, 
the dog of Ulysses is cited, by many ancient authors, 
for the intelligence displayed in his recognition of 
his master after twenty years' absence. A mule, 



10 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

which lived to the age of ninety years, at Athens, 
has also been frequently cited. 

The historian, M^z^ray, relates, on the authority 
of Flodard, that Loup Asnard, Duke of Aquitaine, 
on coming to do homage to Raoul, King of 
France, about the beginning of the tenth century, 
appeared before the monarch mounted on a horse 
a himdred years old. Such exceptions, however, 
even if authentic, tend no more to prove the 
longevity of dogs, horses or mules, than the incon- 
testible fact that certain men, even in modern times, 
have survived to the age of a century and a half, 
tend to establish that period as the span of human 
existence. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 11 



CHAPTER 11. 



INCOMBUSTIBLE MEN. 



There are instances in which it may be fairly said 
that seeing is not believing. In the case of a variety 
of persons who have exhibited themselves, in different 
times and coimtries, as endowed with the natural 
power of resistance to fire, the frightful feats displayed 
serve only to convince the spectator, that the incom- 
bustibility of the exhibitants is but a skilful effort of 
legerdemain. 

It may be observed that the persons who pretend 
to this miraculous faculty, seldom expose themselves 
to the hazard of the investigations of the scientific 
world. For the exhibition of their exploits, they 
usually prefer small towns to great cities. In former 
days, incombustible men assumed, in Spain, the name 
of saludares ; and most of those who have since 
exhibited in public their insensibility to fire, are 



12 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

descendants or imitators of these Spanish mounte- 
banks. The saludores, however, pretended to a 
power of curing all sorts of diseases by means of 
their saliva; whereas, the incombustible individuals 
who have figured in France and Germany, pretend 
only to handle fire with impunity, to swallow boiling 
oil, walk upon glowing embers, or even among flames ; 
all which exploits they accomplish with perfect self- 
possession. So long as two hundred years ago, 
however, the saludores were recognised as impostors. 
Leonard Vain relates a story of one of them, who, 
having pretended to the faculty of sustmning the heat 
of a kindled oven, was forced by the populace into 
one, without sufficient preparation ; on opening 
which, at the close of an hour, the man was foxmd 
to be calcined. A somewhat severe mode of punishing 
imposture ! 

This example, however, did not serve to extinguish 

the race; and in 1806, a man who called himself the 

ipiraculous Spaniard, opened an exhibition in Paris, 

where he renewed aU the skilfiil marvels of his 

predecessors, by walking barefooted on red hot iron, 

drawing heated bars across his arms, face and tongue, 

dipping his hands in molten lead, and swallowing, as 

if with zest, a glass of boiling oU. This exhibition, 

which the idlers of the French capital resorted, 

oduced a careful examination into the precedents 

antiquity for similar instances of incombustibility. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 13 

Some cited the well-known lines of Virgil, with 
reference to the exhibitions of the priests of Apollo, 
on Mount Soracte, where they walked unhurt, in 
presence of the worshippers of their divinity, upon 
burning embers. Others quoted the equally doubtfiil 
authority of Pliny ; who relates the same fact, adding 
• that the privilege of incombustibility was hereditary 
in a specific family ; a fact the more remarkable, 
because aU the modern jugglers in this branch of the 
black art, pretend to descend from St, Catherine. 

Varro, less credulous than Pliny, expressly states 
that the priests of the Temple of Soracte possessed 
the secret of a composition which rendered them 
fire-proof. 

Long after Varro, Strabo [related that the votaries 
of the goddess Feronia obtaiiied, as the price of their 
devotions, the faculty of walking unhml over burning 
piles ; and that the exhibition of this miraculous 
power before her altars, attracted numerous spectators. 

" The worship of the goddess Feronia," says 
Strabo, " is much in vogue ; her temple being 
remarkable as the- site of a miracle. Those persons 
whose prayers the goddess deigns to propitiate, are 
enabled to defy the most ardent flames. This 
miracle is renewed at her annual festival." 

It is also related that, not far from the city of 
Thyane, the birth-place of Apollonius, there was a 
celebrated temple dedicated to Diana Persica; the 



14 A WORLD OF ■WONDEHS. 

vir^s devoted wherein to the worship of the 
goddess of Chastity, possessed the power and privily 
of treading unhurt upon buming embers. A confir- 
mation of these wonders is to be found in Anstotle 
and Apuleius. 

When the visitors of the miraculous Spaniard had 
satisfied tiiemselves, that antiquity supplied a variety ' 
of examples in substantiation of the power to which 
he pretended, modem history was searched for furtJier 
attestation ; when it appeared that Ambrose Par^ 
and Cardan, depose to having seen mountebanks so 
inured to the efi'ects of molten lead and boiling oil, 
that they were able to wash their faces and hands, 
unhurt, with those terrible materials. Delrio, Delan- 
cre, and Bodin, advance many curious facts of a 
similar nature. 

Had these incombustiUe individuals existed in the 
days when trial by ordeal was still a form of law ; 
or, rather, had the Art of Chemistry attained at 
that period the power of hardening the human skin 
into resistance of fire, the secret would have been 
invahiable. 

In those barbarous ages, a culprit sentraced to the 
fiery ordeal of walking upcm heated ploughshares, 
or plunging his Umbs into boiling oil, was tadtly 
condemned to death. We may infer, however, that 
Kings, Queens, and Dignitaries of the Church were of 
a less combustible nature than humbler mortals ; for 



A WORLD OP WONDERS; 15 

when these were forced to submit to the terrible 
ordeal of fire^ it was observed that they escaped 
unsinged ; while serfs and beggars, burnt like tinder : 
an understanding with the cruel executioners of these 
savage laws, being essential to establish the inno- 
cence of *an accused person. 

It would appear as though a sinister influence had 
always attached itself to the ill-fated See of Autun ; 
for one of the first instances on record of the ordeal 
of fire being applied to a member of the hierarchy, 
was that of Simplicius, Bishop of Autun, who, after 
submitting to it in his life-time, was canonized after 
death. Two later Bishops of Autun — the Ahb6 
Roquette, said to be the original of the Tartuffe of 
Molifere, and the Prince de Talleyrand, one of the 
most remarkable personages of modem times, have 
certainly not experienced the same posthumous 
distinction. 

Simplicius, being a married man, when called to 
the honours of the See of Autun, repudiated his 
wife, to whom he was tenderly attached. He was, 
nevertheless, accused of retaining her conjugally in 
his palace after his promotion to the mitre ; in 
disproof of which, he submitted, and caused his 
beloved wife to submit to the fiery ordeial in presence 
of a vast congregation; when, both having escaped 
unhurt, Simplicius was eventually promoted to the 
honour of the Calendar. 



16 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

St. Brie, the successor of St. Martin in the See of 
Toiu^, was ako accused of having become a father, 
to the discredit of his episcopal functions ; a charge 
he is said to have defeated by bestowing powers of 
speech upon the infant, thereby enabling it to name 
its real father. In addition to this exculpation, he 
submitted to the fiery ordeal ; and having gathered 
up his robe, and filled it with burning embers, 
proceeded in this guise to the tomb of his prede- 
cessor, St. Martin, without experiencmg the slightest 
injury. It is not added in the legend, whether the 
garments of the Bishop were also uninjured. 

One of the most celebrated trials by fire on record, 
is that of Thuitberge, wife of Lothaire, King of 
France. Having been accused of more than becoming 
intimacy with the young Prince, her brother, and 
condemned to the ordeal, she had the good fortune 
to find a champion willing to undertake it in her 
behalf. These champions or proxies were tantamount 
to the special pleaders of the present day, being 
mostly hired by fee or reward for the piupose. The 
champion of Thuitberge managed to establish her 
innocence, by plunging his arm without injury into 
a cauldron of boiling water; after which, Lothaire 
was compelled to admit the injustice of his accusation, 
and retain her as his wife. Even at that epoch, 
however, mistrust had arisen on this score; and 
certain servitors of the King openly insinuated the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 17 

existence of chemical compositions, by the application 
of which a man might fortify his flesh against the 
action of boiling fluids. Appeal from the decision of 
an ordeal was, however, decided to be impossible. 

A celebrated Father of the Oratoire, the Pdre 
Lebrun, published a recipe purporting to insure 
impunity against fire; consisting of equal parts of 
alcohol, sulphur, ammonia, essence of rosemary, and 
onion juice. At the moment P^re Lebrun was 
devoting himself to experiments on the mysteries of 
incombustibles, an English practician, named Richard- 
son, was amazing the world of science by the 
performance of prodigies. This person contrived to 
walk upon burning embers, to place burning sulphur 
upon his hand, then transferring it to his tongue, 
allow it to consume away without apparent injury. 
He also allowed a piece of meat, or an oyster, to be 
cooked upon his tongue; the fire for the purpose 
being kept up in a live coal by a pair of bellows. 
He was also able to grasp a red hot bar of iron, and 
even seize it between his teeth ; to swallow molten 
glass and a mixture of burning pitch and sulphur, 
so that the flames burst fi*om his mouth as firom that 
of a furnace; just as common mountebanks emit 
fire £rom their mouths by means of a coal wrapt in 
tow, which has been previously steeped in spirits of 
wine. 

These experiments attracted so much attention, 

c 



18 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

that scientific men considered them deserving notice ; 
and in 1677, Dodart, of the French Academy of 
Sciences, addressed a letter on the subject to the 
Journal de Science, proving that such phenomena 
might be achieved by time, address, and perseverance, 

without the intervention of chemical agency. The 

» 

ordinary hardening of the hands and feet by labour 
and exercise, certainly induce a belief that perseverance 
in the same means might be made to produce absolute 
callosity. 

It is well known, that bakers are remarkable for 
the muscularity of their arms and slightness of their 
legs; while dancers have usually slender arms and 
muscular legs. The difference of exercise, necessitated 
by their several professions, producing diverse deve- 
lopment of limb. On the other hand, there is no 
need to compare the sole of the foot of a lady who 
seldom goes out, imless in a carriage, or treads on 
any other material than luxurious carpets, with that 
of a peasant who goes bare-footed on the flinty road, 
without inconvenience, to be assured that the same 
degree of boiling water which could be sustained by 
the latter without inconvenience, would blister the 
delicate epidermis, of the former. 

Dodart observes that, in the ordinary circumstances 
of life, some people are able to swallow their food 
much hotter than others ; and that, as regards the 
experiments of Richardson, charcoal loses its heat the 



i 



A WORLT) OF WONDERS. 19 

moment it is extinguished, and is easily extinguished 
by means of the human saliva. It is a common trick 
of jugglers to put lighted tapers into their mouths ; 
and in the attempts made by Richardson to cook a 
piece of meat upon his tongue, the slice was made so 
to envelop the ember, as to secure his mouth from 
contact with the fire ; whfle the beUows used during 
the process, on pretence of keeping up the flame, 
were on the contrary, intended to cool the mouth. 
As to the mixtures of boiling wax, pitch and sulphur, 
Dodart states their temperature to have been such, 
that he could hold his finger in them two seconds 
without pain. It is well known that the workmen 
in the foundries are so inured to heat, as to touch, 
without injury, metals in a state of fiision ; frequently 
plunging their hands into molten lead, in order to 
recover articles of value. Moreover, as regards any 
ignited substance placed in the mouth, it naturally 
becomes extinguished the moment the lips are 
reclosed; the gas from the human lungs tending 
especially to that purpose. 

About the year 1774, there lived at the foundry 
of Laune, a man who could walk unharmed over 
bars of red-hot iron, and hold burning coals in his. 
hands. The skin of this man was observed to emit 
a sort of imctuous transpiration, which served as his. 
preservative. 

These facts suflBice to prove that the miraculous 

c 2 



20 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Spaniard, who affected preternatural incombustibility, 
had no need of magic for the working of his 
wonders. For another case, equally remarkable, we 
are indebted to Sementini, an eminent Professor of 
Chemistry at Naples. 

A Sicilian, named Lionetti, came to that city for 
the purpose of exhibiting feats of incombustibility; 
and soon excited public astonishment by his power of 
drawing a red-hot plate of iron over his hair with- 
out singeing it, on which he afterwards stamped 
with his naked feet. He also drew rods of red-hot 
iron through his mouth, swallowed boiling oil, 
dipped his fingers in molten lead, and dropped some 
on his tongue. He fearlessly exposed his face to the 
flames of burning oil ; poured sulphuric or muriatic 
add upon lighted embers, and imbibed the fiimes ; 
ending by allowing a thick gold pin to be thrust 
deep into his flesh. 

The Neapolitans were as much enchanted by the 
feats of Lionetti as the Parisian with those of the 
incombustible Spaniard. But at Naples, Sementini, 
who was on the watch, perceived that, at the moment 
the fire-proof man applied the heated materials to his 
skin, there escaped a whitish vapour. Instead of 
swallowing a glass of boiling oil, according to his 
annoimcement, he introduced only a quarter of a 
spoonful into his mouth, and a few drops of molten 
lead upon his tongue, which was covered with a 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 21 

white fiir, like the secretion perceptible in cases of 
fever. When he took the hot iron between his teeth, 
symptoms of suppressed pain were perceptible ; and 
the edges of his teeth were evidently charred by 
previous performances of a similar description. From 
these appearances, Sementini inferred that Lionetti 
made use of certain preparations which secured him 
against the influence of heat, by hardening the 
^n^: aod that his Ain having become Lo»s 
from use, was in itself able to resist, to a certain 
degree, the action of fire. These conclusions, which 
concur with those made by Dodart, in the case of 
Richardson, were verified by personal observation 
and carefiil experiment. 

After many fruitless attempts to discover the 
chemical agents used by the Incombustibles, the 
persevering Sementini found that by frequent 
frictions of sulphuric acid, he was able to inure his 
flesh to the contact of red-hot iron ; and we are 
bound to admire the patience and courage of those 
who, for the benefit of scientific discovery, attempt 
experiments of so powerful and perilous a nature. To 
have exposed a fallacy in matters of science, is equal 
to the discovery of a fact ; and the extirpation of a 
single error or false conclusion from the popular 
mind, is an act deserving of gratitude. 

Sementini found that by bathing the parts thus 
deprived of their usual sensitiveness with a solution 



22 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

of alum, their former sensibility to heat was 
restored; and one day, happening to smear with 
soap the parts he had re-soflened in this manner 
with alum, he found, to his great surprise, that 
they became hardened anew against the action of 
heat. The experimentalist instantly applied to his 
tongue a preparation of soap, and found that it 
enabled him to defy the contact of iron heated to a 
white heat. To neutralize the faculty thus acquired, 
he had only to sprinkle his tongue with sugar; a 
new application of soap serving at any moment to 
render it fire-proof. 

By these experiments, in various countries, the 
pretension to a supernatural power of incombustibility 
has been reduced to its true level. The Priests of 
Soracte, the Virgins of Diana, the Champion of 
Queen Thuitberge, and the Bishop of Autun, were 
doubtless adepts in the art of the miraculous 
Spaniard; and according to the recipe of Semen- 
tini, a man may be enabled to defy the element of 
fire as successfully as an expert swimmer overmasters 
that of water, or an experienced aeronaut of air. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 23 



CHAPTER III. 



VENTRILOQUISTS. 



Ventriloquists are a better order of jugglers 
than the Incombustibles. The feats of the latter are 
doubtless more surprising — the former, far more amus- 
ing. To behold a man expose himself to even the 
semblance of a cruel torture, affords a disgusting 
species of excitement ; and such exhibitions as those 
we have described, the feat of swallowing naked 
swords, or the favourite practice of placing in contact 
with half-tamed beasts of prey a human being 
who submits to the risk for the sake of a scanty 
remuneration, is an order of public entertainment 
that does little honour to the taste of the listless 
spectator. 

To witness feats of ventriloqioism, on the contrary, 
is a diverting and harmless pastime; though, had 
Messieurs Comte and Alexandre exhibited their 
marvellous powers in the olden time, there is some 
probability that they might have been exposed to 



1 



24 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

jeopardy as sorcerers and magicians, or to exorcism, as 
possessed of devils. 

Ventriloquism derives its name from an error of 
the ancients. So far from being effected through the 
body, the mouth is the sole instrument of the art or 
faculty we call ventriloquism. The first inference 
formed on this subject was by the Greeks, who 
conceived the oracles of the Pythoness to consist of 
the emanation of the soul from the viscera ; and as 
the lips of ventriloquists assumed the same form in the 
exercise of their art as those of the Pythoness during 
her pretended inspirations, they ascribed the effort 
to the same region of the body. 

Archbishop Eustatius, in treating of the Witch 
of Endor, attributes the exploits of the magician 
Ob, in invoking the shade of Samuel, and obtaining a 
reply from the apparition, to a devil, or the power of 
ventriloquism. In the Book of the Septanti, the Witch 
of Endor is described as a ventriloquist. 

Father Ddrio, as an interpreter of the opinion of the 
ancients, and Henri Boguet, the great legist, declared 
from the bench, that all persons endowed with a 
natural power of ventriloquism, had hoarse, harsh 
voices, and that the spirit by which they were 
possessed, must be dislodged by exorcism. 

In the earher days of ventriloquism, from the Witch 
of Endor downwards, the art appears to have been 
almost peculiar to the female sex ; though in our own 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 25 

times professed only by males; In the fifteenth 
century, Roknde du Vernois, accused of the exercise 
of ventriloquism, was condemned and burnt as a 
witch; and about the middle of the sixteenth, 
the inhabitants of Lisbon were amazed by the feats of 
a woman named Cecilia, who possessed the art of 
causing her voice to issue from her elbow, foot, or any 
other part of her body. In exhibiting this apparently 
preternatural power, she pretended to have an invisible 
colleague, named Pierre Jean, with whom she appeared 
to hold conversations ; an exploit that exposed her to 
a- charge of witchcraft. She was tried for magic, and 
exiled to the Island of St. Thomas, in remission of a 
sentence to be burnt alive. 

r 

In the same century, a little old woman who had 
very much the air of a witch, and whose voice 
appeared to issue from the centre of her body, made 
her appearance in Italy, where she was arraigned for 
sorcery ; but her further history is unrecorded. 

A female ventriloquist, named Barbara Jacobi, 
narrowly escaped being burnt at the stake in 1685, at 
Haarlem, where she was an inmate of the public 
hospital. The curious daily resorted thither to hear 
her hold a dialogue with an imaginary personage 
with whom she conversed as if concealed behind the 
curtains of her bed. This individual, whom she called 
Joachun, and to whom she addressed a thousand 
ludicrous questions, which he answered in the same 



26 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

familiar strain, was for some time supposed to be a 
coofederate. But when the bystanders attempted 
to search for him behind the curtains, his voice 
instantly reproached them with their curiosity from the 
opposite comer of the room. As Barbara Jacobi had 
contrived to make herself femiliar with all the gossip 
of the city of Haarlem, the revelations of the pre- 
tended familiar were such as to cause considerable 
embarrassment to those who beset her with imper- 
tinent questions. 

The celebrated Thi^met used to exhibit at Paris 
a scene of a similar nature, afterwards copied in 
London in the Monopolylogues of Matthews. Having 
concealed himself in a sentry-box, which occupied the 
centre of his small stage, the distant sound of a hdm 
became audible ; then, the cry of a pack of hounds 
gradually approaching ; during- the intervals of which, 
a miller and his wife were heard familiarly conversing 
in bed concerning their household affairs. In the 
midst of their conversation, a knock was heard ; and a 
strange noise became audible from without, entreating 
the miller to rise and shdw the way through the forest 
to a young Baron, who had lost the track of the 
hounds. The miller promised compliance; when 
an altercation ensued between him and his wife ; the 
former wishing to rise, the latter preventing him with 
a declaration that she had not courage to be left alone 
in the mill. At length, the miQer gets the better ; 



A WORLB OP WONDERS. 2? 

and^ having risen, is about to put on his clothes, when 
the sobs and cries of his abandoned spouse detennine 
him to return to bed ; and the scene used to terminate 
with a loud exclamation on the part of the lady when 
the cold knees of the miUer apprized her of his return. 
This ^omewhat too familiar exhibition , used to elicit 
roars of laughter from the most fashionable audiences ; 
nor, till Thi^met issued from his sentry-box, could 
they be prevailed upon to believe that he had been alone. 

Ventriloquism is, in truth, the working of a 
curious problem in acoustics ; the art resulting from a 
careful computation of distances and eflfects in the 
science of sound. The resources aflforded by such an 
art to the priesthood of antiquity, who were thus 
enabled to create an oracle wherever they thought 
proper, may. easily be understood. When exercised 
with dexterity, it was no wonder that the bewildered 
populace should exclaim, like the Sybil of Cumae, 
" Deus ! ecce Deus !" Dodona and Delphos are now 
generally believed to have been simply the scene 
of a clever exhibition of ventriloquism. Fontenelle, 
and the learned Benedictine, Dom Calmet, have both 
written extensively on the subject ; the latt^, more 
especially, labouring to prove that a variety of marvels 
related by Lucian, Philostratus, lamblicus, and 
other eminent authors, are easily explained by 
ventriloquism. 

Many French historians attribute to the same origin 



} 



28 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

the apostrophe of the pretended Spectre in the Forest 
of Mans, which so terrified the feeble Charles VI., as 
to deprive him of reason. Such was the opinion of 
the Abb^ de la Chapeile; who, in 1772, published a 
volume on ventriloquism, in which, among other 
examples, he (ites the wonderful faculty of a ^ocer 
named St. Gilles, residing at St. Germain en Laye; 
who, when visited by the Abb^, made his voice appear 
to issue fi'om every part of the house. St. Gilles appears 
to have been a facetious personage as well as a skilful 
ventriloquist ; for as he was one day walking in the 
forest of St. Germain, with a rich Prebendary, cele- 
brated for his avarice and clerical abuses, a voice was 
heard to reproach him with his pluralities and covet- 
ousness, threatening to bury him under the ruins of his 
prebendal house, unless he reformed the errors of his 
ways. The grocer being careful to assume an appearance 
of the same terror that paralyzed his companion, the 
priest regarded this interposition as the voice of his 
good angel; and instantly proceeding to the nearest 
church, dropped the whole contents of his purse into 
the poor's box ; and on his return to Paris, devoted 
the remainder of his days to repentance and good 
works. 

On another occasion, St. Gilles exercised his art in 
restoring family peace to a young couple. The 
husband who had abandoned a yoimg and lovely wife, 
having accompanied him into the depths of the forest 



A WORLD OF WONDERS* 29 

of St. Gennain for a morning walk, was also addressed 
by a supernatural voice, threatening him with eternal 
punishment unless he renounced his dissolute habits, 
and returned to the bosom of domestic life ; a strata- 
gem which produced the happiest results. 

One of the most skilful proficient^ in the art, 
appears to have been a Baron von Mengen, a 
German nobleman, as celebrated at Vienna, as 
St. Gilles in France. The Baron never appeared 
in society without carrying a doll in his pockets, 
with which he used to hold imaginary conversations. 
An English traveller, amazed by the wit and wisdom 
of the doU, became at length so excited by curiosity, 
as to insinuate his hand into the Baron's pocket, 
in the hope of discovering his secret ; when the doll 
instantly shrieked aloud, and bitterly reproached the 
Englishman for his breach of decorum. The amaze- 
ment of the abashed foreigner increasing, the Baron 
produced his doll, and explained the nature of the 
mystery. 

Philippe, a favourite actor of the Theatre des 
Variet^s, on his marriage with Mademoiselle Volnais, 
the actress, proceeded with her into Lorraine to 
visit an estate they had purchased ; when the tenants 
having thought proper to favour them with a magni- 
ficent reception, in the course of the day, the bride- 
groom, deserting his place of honour, strolled out 
among the revellers. While he appeared to be only 



30 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

conversing in a grave manner with the Mayor of the 
place, to the dismay of the simple villagers, strange 
voices were heard to issue from tuns of wine, 
reproaching them with their excesses ; and from 
wheelbarrows, reproving them for their idleness. 
The whole village fancied itself bewitched; while 
Philippe enjoyed, for the first time of his life, on 
his own account, a talent he had so often exercised 
for the amusement of others. 

Comte, the best ventriloquist now extant, has 
performed a thousand similar exploits. When on 
his travels in Belgium, he caused the voice of 
Margaret of Austria, to issue from her tomb in the 
Church of Bron, addressing a reprimand to the 
verger. At Rheims, he was nearly the cause of 
depopulating the quarter of St. Nicholas, by causing 
voices to issue from a variety of graves in the church- 
yard; while at Nevers, he revived the miracle of 
Balaam, by enabling an overladen ass to reproach its 
ma... ^i hi, A. 

Another time. Monsieur Comte, when travelling 
by night in a diligence, the travellers of which had 
fallen asleep, roused them from their slumbers by 
a confusion of voices of robbers at the windows, 
calling aloud upon the postillions to stop. The 
greatest consternation prevailed ; when Monsieur 
Comte oflfered to negociate for them with the robbers, 
and become the depositary of their purses for the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 31 

purpose. Having alighted from the carriage for this 
object, he was heard conversing in the dark road 
with a variety of voices, breathing the most frightful 
threats; and the travellers considered themselves 
fortunate in being allowed to purchase their lives by 
the cession of all they had about them. When 
daylight broke, their adroit fellow-traveller restored 
their property ; the mere mention of his name 
sufficing to explain the nature of the jest which had 
produced their alarm. 

On another occasion, he preserved the statues and 
carvings of a village church from mutilation, by 
causing a voice to issue from the altar, commanding 
the forbearance of the rustic population. He was, 
however, very near falling a victim to the marvels of 
his art, at Fribourg ; where the populace, asserting 
him to be a sorcerer, fell upon him, and would have 
thrown him into a heated oven to be consumed, but 
for the intervention of the authorities. 

Nevertheless, in defiance of these well-known 
facts, ventriloquism still appears miraculous to the 
vulgar. Thirty years ago, the learned Ahh6 Fiard 
wrote a treatise to prove that the ancients were 
justified in their belief that it proceeded from 
spiritual possession. Fortunately, the great majority 
are content to accept it as a fertile source of recrea- 
tion, without troubling themselves concerning the 
origin of the faculty. 



32 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

POPE JOAN AND THE WANDERING JEW. 

In the history of the world a variety of imaginary 
personages have found a place, whom it has become 
difficult to dislodge. Created in the first instance by 
the blunders of some careless writer, or by the sickly 
fancy of some unsound judgment, they are adopted 
by popular favour, tricked up according to its 
caprices, and committed to the hands of tradition to 
mislead the opinions of posterity. The pretensions 
of a false Demetrius, a false Dauphin, a false 
HeracHus, a Lambert Simnel, or a Perkin Warbeck, 
are more easfly disproved and set aside than those of 
the mere shadows which fiit over the surface of 
history; too impalpable to be seized upon and 
compelled to render an account of themselves. 

Among these phantoms are Pope Joan, and the 
Wandering Jew; of whom every one has heard 
something, though nothing to the purpose. Yet 
these imaginary personages are too closely connected 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 33 

with the mysteries of our faith to be otherwise than 
generally interesting. 

For how many years did the legend of the 
Wandering Jew, the porter of Pilate, condemned 
to roam the earth till the second coming of Christ, 
and having his necessities provided for by five-pence, 
which remained inexhaustibly in his purse, obtain 
favour with the world — ^perpetually renewed and 
brightened by the inventive hand of genius ! Even 
now, though no longer an article of belief among 
the enli&:htened classes, his story obtains sufficient 
credit ,^th the vdgsr to merit a certain deg«e of 
examination. 

The first writer who signalized the existence of the 
Wandering Jew, was Matthew Paris, an English 
chronicler of the thirteenth century ; who was perhaps 
ignorant that he was only renewing a fable of the 
Greeks ; Suidas having recorded that a Greek named 
Pasfes possessed a miraculous piece of money, which 
as often as he expended it returned again into his 
pocket. 

Some inventors have too much modesty to pretend 
to originality. So it was with Matthew Paris ; who 
affected to have learned the legend of the Wandering 
Jew from an Armenian Bishop, who spent some time 
in England. This eastern dignitary, he asserts, had 
actually seen and conversed with the Wandering Jew, 
whose name he stated to be Cartophilax ; that he was 

D 



34 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

porter to the tribunal to which Jesus was conveyed by 
the Roman soldiers ; and had familiarly known the 
Virgin Mary and the Apostles. All the romantic 
incidents of his story which have passed into an 
article of popular faith, were first related by Matthew 
Paris. 

But may there not have been some allegorical or 
concealed sense connected with the first creation of 
the Wandering Jew? At this period, Jews were 
objects of universal persecution, and often publicly 
burnt. Is it not likely enough that Matthew Paris 
intended to typify the whole persecuted and wandering 
people of the Jews in the person of Cartophilax ; or, 
may he not have purposed to afford a means of safety 
and impunity to any Jew who saw fit to take up the 
character ? 

For thirteen centuries, then — as for eighteen, now 
— ^the Jewish people had been driven from place to 
place, tracked like a beast of prey, and subjected to 
every species of ignominy. Their destiny, in short, was 
a mere extended exemplification of the fortunes of the 
Wandering Jew. May not, moreover, the eternal 
five-pence have been intended to show, that wherever 
he fijids himself, a Jew can never be long in want of 
money? Montesquieu only expresses the general 
opinion on this subject, in saying, "Wherever you 
find gold, you will find a Jew." 

This theory will probably be regarded as more 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 35 

apocryphal than the existence of Cartophilax ! 
Nevertheless we would rather pin our faith on a 
fanciful interpretation, than admit that a writer of 
so much moment to the History of the World as 
the famous Matthew Paris, could voluntarily shake the 
stability of his Chronicles by the wanton fabrication 
of such a miracle. 

The invention of Pope Joan is still more easily 
accounted for; as originating in the desire of the 
Reformed Church to expose to contempt the honour 
of the See of Rome. No contemporary writer so 
much as afludes to her existence; nor till sixty 
years after the period assigned as that of her adven- 
tiu-es, do we find the monk Radulphus relating the 
scandalous chronicle of her pretended pontificate. A 
story of this description once set afloat, will never 
want for commentators; and a variety of other writers 
instantly seized upon it, improving the details at 
leisure. 

Seldom, however, has an imposture been adopted 
by such grave judgments, or promulgated by such 
authoritative voices, as that of Pope Joan. But the 
fact is that party spirit, or rather sectarian spirit, 
blinded the eyes of these abettors of fraud. At the 
moment of the grand schism originating the Reformed 
Chiurch, the partizans of the new Faith seized upon 
the old wife's tale of Pope Joan, and converted it into 
a serious argument against the infallibility of Rome. 

D 2 



36 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

" You boast of the assistance of divine grace, you 
pretend to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost," said 
they to the Catholics ; " that it directs your councils 
and suggests your elections. How came it, then, that 
with so omniscient a counsellor, you were deluded 
into promoting a woman to the Papal See? — ^The 
single name of Pope Joan ought to suffice to attest 
the incompetency of your Church !" 

The history of this pretended personage has been 
too often related, and is of too gross a nature to 
deserve recitaL Even the historians who have been 
most serious in its attestation, disagree in the leading 
incidents; some of them naming the female Pope 
Agnes, some Joan, and some Gilberta. Voltaire, 
who was little prone to defend the purity of the See 
of Rome, utterly discredits her existence ; and in all 
Protestant countries, where the fable was first called 
into existence, the name of Pope Joan is cited only as 
a matter of jest and derision. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 37 



CHAPTER V. 



THE FABLES OF HISTORY, 



It is surprising how many of the facts of history 
have been reduced into fictions by the careful 
investigations of modern enlightenment. For cen- 
turies, it was established as an undeniable enormity of 
the empire, that the Emperor Justinian put out the 
eyes of Belisarius. Tragedies, operas and romances, 
were grounded upon this cruel incident ; and the arts 
have lent their aid to the perpetuation of a popular 
error. 

Let us examine the real state of the case. In 
563, a conspiracy was discovered against the Emperor 
Justinian ; and the conspirators were arrested on the 
eve of executing their criminal design. Certain of 
his favourites, envious of the great name of Beli- 
sarius, suborned felse witnesses, whose testimony 
made it appear that he was included in the plot ; 
upon which, Justinian indulged in the bitterest 
reproaches against his perfidy. Belisarius, strong in 
his sense of innocence, and the consciousness of the 



38 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

great services he had rendered to the empire, dis- 
dained. to justify himself; and Justinian, weak, 
versatile, and mistrustful, influenced by a paltry 
pusillanimity, caused him to be stripped of his 
offices, made prisoner in his house, and deprived of 
all attendants or companions. 

This state of things continued for the space of 
seven months ; when the innocence of Belisarius was, 
by the intervention of others, brought to light ; and 
he was at once restored to his former honours and 
the confidence of his master. So far from being 
deprived of sight, and guided about by a youth, as 
our imaginations have been misled into depicting 
him by a variety of artists and men of letters, 
Belisarius died at an advanced age in the full enjoy- 
ment of his senses. 

The two first authors who thought proper to load 
the memory of Justinian with the odium of having 
put out the eyes of Belisarius, were Crinitus and 
Raphael Maffi^i, both belonging to the sixteenth 
century. No anterior writer makes the smallest 
allusion to this ad; of barbarity ; which, had it been 
authentic, could scarcely have been buried in obscu- 
rity for a period of ten centuries. The event which 
probably gave rise to so monstrous a supposition was, 
the disgrace of Carpocratian ; who, after being the 
chief favourite of Justinian, was driven into exile in 
Egypt, and compelled to beg his bread on the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 39 

highways. But even in this instance, the fallen man 
was not deprived of sight. 

One day, a village priest who was preaching in 
Prance, on the instability of riches and the misfor- 
tunes of the great, perceiving his simple flock to 
be melted into tears by the pathetic nature of his 
recital, comforted them by adding, "Nevertheless, 
my brethren, take comfort, for, after all, these 
traditions may be greatly exaggerated." It were as 
well, perhaps, if historians were equally candid, 
more especially the one who first treated of the 
cruel fortunes of Behsarius. 

This great man had, in truth, no need of fac- 
titious enhancements to secure the sympathies of 
the sixteenth century ; the nobleness of his character 
having fiilly equalled the greatness of his exploits. 
As the conqueror of the Goths, he sustained the 
fortunes of the empire ; sacrificing himself for his 
master, and refiising a crown when the throne was 
easily accessible. After he had achieved the conquest 
of Italy, the jealousy of Justinian recalled him fi-om 
his command. Yet when the fortunes of his cx)untry 
stood a second time in need of his sword, he did not 
hesitate to lay down his resentment, and take up arms 
for its defence. 

A far more authentic instance of undeserved 
misfortune is the case of CEdipus, who, bom the heir 
of the throne, was secretly removed from the palace 



40 A WOELD OF WONDERS. 

in consequence of a prediction that he would become 
the murderer of his father. To avoid the accom- 
plishment of the oracle, the infant was about to be 
destroyed ; the servant, to whom the task was 
assigned, having hteraUy pierced his feet, and 
suspended him to the branches of a tree; when 
imfortunatdy a shepherd, taking pity on the tortured 
babe, relieved him and conveyed him to the Court of 
the Queen of Corinth, by whom, being childless, he 
was reared as her son. At eighteen years of age, an 
oracle enjoined him to go in search erf his parents ; 
and on his travels, having killed a man by whom 
he was insulted, the victim proved to be his father. 

CEdipus arrives at Thebes. A riddle is proposed 
to him, the sense of which he is so unfortunate as to 
guess ; and having by this feat rid the coimtry of the 
Spliinx, he receives the promised reward in the hand 
of the Queen of Thebes, who, in process of time, 
proves to be the mother of her young husband. In 
consequence of tiiis pamcide and incest, a frightM 
pestilence afflicts Thebes; and CEdipus in despair, 
puts out his own eyes, banishes himself from his 
native country, and is followed into exile by his' 
daughter Antigone, who officiates as his guide. 

Such misfortunes naturally inspu^ the minds of 
*he heathens with a belief in the doctrine of fatahty — 

blind interpretation of events which also served 
3 induce a belief in the marvellous, and confirm 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 41 

half the preposterous superstitions perpetuated by the 
weakness of the human race. 

Nothing can be more groundless, by the way, 
than our vain assertioh of being the only created 
beings who " contemplate Heaven with brow erect." 
Not only do we share this distinction with the 
ourang-outangs, but with a variety of birds, such 
as the crane and the ostrich; which, on this point, 
are better qualified than ourselves, seeing that 
instead of the upper eyelid falling, the lower eyelid 
rises over the eye; thus leaving them more at 
liberty to raise their eyes to Heaven. 

False pretensions and vulgar errors of this kind 
abound in the world : — as for instance, the belief 
that the pelican pierces her bosom to feed her little 
ones with her blood — that the scent of bean-flowers 
produces delirium — that the mole is blind — that the 
dove is a model of gentleness and conjugal fidelity ; 
and how often are the questions still mooted whether 
Hannibal really worked a passage through the Alps 
with vinegar — whether the coffin of Mahomet be 
really suspended at Mecca between two loadstones — 
whether shooting stars be fi'agments of shattered 
planets, or souls progressing from purgatory — 
whether beasts of prey are afi-aid of fire ; and 
whether human nature have ever exhibited affinities 
with the brute creation in the form of fauns, 
dryads, satyrs, or centaurs. 



42 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

The fable of the centaurs explains itself natu- 
rally enough by the wonder created in the world 
by the first man hardy enough to reduce the 
horse to a state of submissibn, and convert it into 
a domestic animal. We know that a man on 
horseback has been regarded as a complex animal 
by many savage nations; just as the Peruvians, 
when attacked by the artillery of Pizarro, believed 
their invaders to be Gods, seeing that thunder was 
at their disposal. 

As to fauns and satyrs, which probably consisted 
of shepherds whose lower extremities were clad in 
goat skins, Herodotus declares that a whole nation 
of them existed among the mountains of Scythia. 
Plutarch relates that, in the time of Sylla, a faun 
was caught at Nymphea near Apollonia, which was 
brought as a present to the Dictator. The creature 
could utter no articulate sound, — ^its voice consisting 
of a noise between the cry of a goat and the neighing 
of a horse ; but exhibited social qualities, and was 
much addicted to female society. This was pro- 
bably some deaf and dumb idiot, left by unnatural 
parents to perish in infancy, and miraculously pre- 
served; as in the case of Peter, the Wild Boy, 
found during the last century in the forests of West- 
phalia, and maintained at the cost of the King of 
England to a good old age. A similar specimen 
of degraded humanity was exhibited at Paris under 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 43 

the name of the Savage of Aveyron ; and the 
historical fable of Valentine and Orson was probably 
founded on some similar circumstance. 

According to Philostratus, a satyr was taken in 
Ethiopia of so mild and gentle a disposition, as to 
have been easily tamed; and that certain of the 
simeous tribes, such, for instance, as the ourang- 
outang called the Wild Man of the Woods, should 
have been considered a satyr by both Greeks and 
Romans, on a first inspection seems natural enough. 
St. Jerome, in his life of St. Anthony, asserts that he 
encountered a satyr in the desart, and that they 
conversed and breakfasted together. 

We should have thought these holy personages 
more in danger of an encounter with wild beasts; 
concerning which peril, a passing remark may be 
made, that the idea of fiightening them away by fire 
is a popular prejudice. Tavernier relates that some 
soldiers having lighted a great fire to preserve them- 
selves fi-om the damp, in a forest of Africa, were set 
upon by a lion, and that one of the men was greatly 
injured by this midnight intruder, which was luckily 
shot dead by one of his conu*ades. 

As regards the popular opinion concerning the 
tomb of Mahomet, it is now proved to be at Medina 
instead of Mecca, where the belief of many centuries 
assigned it a place ; but so far fi'om being suspended 
in the air by a loadstone, the coffin lies on the ground 



44 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

surrounded by an iron balustrade. A learned Jesuit, 
by dint of many patient experiments, ascertained the 
possibility of sustaining a human body in the air by 
the power of the loadstone. But the quantity employed 
only served to realize the miracle for the space of two 
seconds. On the discovery of the singular properties 
of the loadstone, as affecting the polarization of the 
needle, the vulgar naturally began to endow it with 
miraculous powers. In 1765, the Journal Encyclo- 
p^dique published an Essay attributing to the 
loadstone the power of curing the tooth- ache; the 
person afflicted being required to turn his face 
towards the North Pole, and touch the aching tooth 
with the southern point of a magnetic needle. The 
system was pursued for a time by a variety of quack 
dentists, but soon fell to the ground. 

With respect to shooting stars, philosophy remains 
undecided as to their origin. But vulgar superstition 
clings to the belief that any wish formed during the 
transit of one of these luminous bodies will be 
accomplished. This idea probably purported in the 
first instance to demonstrate the transitory nature of 
human wishes, as exemplified in the momentary 
glimpse of the meteor. Some philosophers attribute 
shooting stars to the encounter of the electric fluid 
with inflammable molecules in the atmosphere- 
Descartes asserts that they are terrestrial particles 
which, meeting in the air the second element, take 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 45 

fire and fall back to earth ; leaving where they fall a 
viscous matter. The truth is that they have never 
been known to fall back upon the earth. Monsieur Biot 
has hazarded a conjecture that they may be fragments 
of comets, falling with immense rapidity through the 
realms of space. 

If this point of popular prejudice remain unremoved, 
nothing can be more certain jbhan that the mole 
possesses organs of vision — ^though small ; and that 
the fable of the maternal tenderness of the pelican, 
originated in the flexible pouch in which she deposits 
the fish she collects for her own food, and that of her 
young. The proverbial fidelity of the dove to her 
mate has been equally disproved by naturalists ; 
no person having ever kept a pair of doves without 
noticing that they are birds of a peculiarly irascible 
and quarrelsome nature. 



46 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER VI. 



MELONS AND MONSTERS. 



It might form an important matter of inquiry for 
naturalists, whether the fruits appropriated by Provi- 
denoe to certain climates, do not become imwholsome 
when transferred to others by the intervention of art. 
Certain it is, that in various countries of the South, 
melons constitute an article of national food ; whereas, 
in the North, they pass for one of the most pernicious 
productions of the vegetable kingdom ; being the first 
article of food interdicted during the prevalence of 
the cholera. 

The origin of the meton, however, appears very 
imcertain. Far from being indigenous in Italy, it 
was asserted by the Roman naturalists to have been 
brought from Africa by Metellus; while others 
believe it to have been derived from their earlier 
Asiatic conquests. Scipio is said by some to have 
first introduced it into Rome. From whatever source 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 47 

derived, the gardeners of Greece and Rome made the 
culture of the melon a subject of especial study. 
Pliny spoke of the delicacy and flavour of the fruit as 
well as of its indigestibility. It may be observed, 
however, that in the more ancient bas-reliefs and 
frescoes of fruit found in Herculaneum, the melon 
does not appear. 

The modem arts of horticulture have added 
innumerable varieties of the melon to the round and 
oblong species known to the Romans; and Godoy, 
the Prince of Peace, devoted himself in Spain to 
the improvement of this favourite fruit. It is a 
mistake, however, to suppose that the fine kind called 
the Cantalupe, reached us from that coimtry; the 
name being derived from the village of Cantalupi 
near Rome, famous for the cultivation of its melons. 
In Spain and France, the melon is eaten with roast 
meat, at dinner ; in England and Russia, it is eaten 
with sugar at dessert. By many people the crudeness 
is qualified with pepper and ginger ; but the Bavarian 
mother of the Regent, Duke of Orleans, provoked 
much criticism in Paris by powdering her slice of 
melon with Spanish snuff, according to the custom in 
some parts of Germany. 

A strange object of luxury in the same country 
consists in snails. A large white species of snail, 
much cultivated at Ulm, is sent to various parts of 
Germany. One of the popular errors concerning 



48 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

these snails, is the opinion that when decapitated the 
body will produce a new head. Spallanzani and 
Voltaire tried the experiment on innumerable snails, 
and attest that a head was really reproduced. It 
is well known that the body of a fly wiU exist some 
time after being deprived of its head; and that, 
on crushing the shell of a snail, the creature is able to 
repair, by degrees, its shattered dwelling. But in 
spite of the authority of Spallanzani and Voltaire, we 
have no faith in the power of reproduction of a 
second head. Valmont de Bomare, after decapitating 
fifteen hundred, decided that the opinion was 
erroneous ; and, unwilling to suppose that two such 
great authorities had imposed on public credulity, 
concludes that in their reluctance to the task, they 
merely cut off the nose and ears of the sensitive snails 
without effecting a positive decapitation. A fact untrue 
of the snail, however, has been proved as regards 
several varieties of polypi, which are able to reproduce 
themselves from fragments of a dismembered polypus. 
There is one species of polypus susceptible of being 
completely turned inside out, like a glove, without 
injury to the vital power ! 

Turenne, who wrote a Treatise on the nature of 
snails, may be called the Attila of the species, since 
he admits having decapitated thousands and thou- 
sands. He even affects compunction on the subject, 
after the example of the Greek physician, Herophilus, 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 49 

who dissected seven hundred bodies in illustration of 
his anatomical lectures in the theatre of Alexandria. 
Turenne asserts that, if Valmont de Bomare and 
Adanson found no r^iovation of head in the snails 
they decapitated, it was because they failed to supply 
their victims with the food which snails are organized 
to imbibe through the pores of their bodies by 
crawling over vegetable matter, even when deprived 
of their heads. He declares that a period of two 
years is indispensable fen* the r^roduction of a head. 

The discoveries of modem navigators have 
unquestionably added to our menageries a vast 
variety of animals unknown to the ancients, or known 
only by hearsay, and esteemed apocryphal. But, 
on the other hand, various animals with which the 
ancients pretended to be familiar have wholly 
disappeared; such as sphinxes and griffins, the 
phcenix, the salamander, the unicorn, besides many- 
headed serpents and dragons, which we now abandon 
to the emblazonment of heraldry. 

The most famous dragons of antiquity were those 
which drew through the air the car of Medea. The 
philosophic Possidonius — ^who made war so valiantly 
against the gout, which he maintains to be no evil— 
speaks of a dragon which covered an acre of groimd ; 
and could swallow a knight on horseback with as 
much ease as the whale did Jonas. This was, 
however, an insignificant reptile compared with the 

E 



50 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

one discovered in India hy St. Maximus, Archbishop 
of Tyre, which covered five acres of ground. 

Both in sacred and profane history, dragons have 
honourable mention. Cadmus is related to have 
destroyed a dragon; the garden of the Hesperides 
was guarded by a dragon ; St. George triumphed over 
a dragon ; and the Dragon of Wantley has become 
proverbial in English song. St. Augustin, Bishop of 
Hippona, speaks with authority of the existence 
of dragons ; describing them as winged serpents which 
conceal themselves in caverns during the day-time, 
though they occasionally venture forth and rise into the 
air. From this it was inferred, by early naturalists, 
that the dragon of the ancients was one of the larger 
serpent tribes, having a cartilaginous substance 
similar to the wings of the bat, or flying-fish, attached 
to its body. 

Suetonius declares that the Emperor Tiberius 
possessed a pet dragon, which was completely tame 
and used to eat out of his hand ; probably an iguano, 
the sort of lizard which forms a luxurious object of 
food in the West Indies ; and which, though perfectly 
harmless, has a frightful appearance. Crinitus records 
that, in the time of the Emperor Maurice, there was 
an inundation of the Tiber, which left behind it, on 
the land, an enormous dragon. The same writer 
mentions that the Emperor Augustus kept a prodi- 
gious dragon in his palace, which he used to lead 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 51 

about with a string. A constellation serves to attest 
the existence of the dragon of Lemia. 

The tame dragon of the imperial palace was pro- 
bably a tame boa-constrictor similar to the one 
formerly kept in the library of the late Sir Joseph 
Banks. 

Various are the records in ancient authors of 
prodigious serpents. Pliny declares that, in Africa, 
the army of Regulus was kept in check by an enor- 
mous serpent ; a statement confirmed by Aulus GeQius 
and other historians, and admitted by RoUin and 
Bossuet in their Histoire universelle, and Histoire 
ancienne. Follard refutes it in his Commentary on 
Polybius ; conceiving the fact of a serpent of one hun- 
dred and twenty feet keeping at bay a large army and 
its engines of war to be an insult to the prowess 
of the Roman warriors. The following is the opinion 
the celebrated Lacep^de on this subject. 

" Travellers who have penetrated into the interior 
of Africa," says he, "give an account of prodi- 
gious serpents, who advance among the bushes and 
towering reeds of some vast jungle, like a huge beam 
suddenly endowed with motion. Herds of gazelles 
and other timid animals take flight on their approach ; 
nor can iron penetrate the skin of the monster, which 
is, indeed, appalling when extended to its utmost 
length, and ravenous after food. The only chance of 
its extermination is by setting fire to the nearest 

E 2 



52 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

bushes of the jungle ; and thus raising, as* it were, a 
rampart of fire between you and the gigantic 
reptile. 

" Such, probably, was the serpent which arrested 
the progress of the Roman army on the coast of Africa. 
To compute its length at one hundred and twenty feet, 
after Pliny, would probably be an exaggeration ; but 
the Roman naturalist adds that its skin remained some 
time suspended, as a trophy, in a temple in Rome. 
Unless we deny all authenticity to history, therefore, 
we are bound to believe in the existence of a prodi- 
gious serpent, which when irritated by hunger, was 
known to attack the Roman soldiers; and against 
which, in the sequel, they had successful recourse to 
their engines of war." 

In the same manner, a distorted account may here- 
after reach posterity of the death of Chuny, the 
famous elephant, which so long inhabited a menagerie 
in London; until becoming rabid from the effect of high 
feeding and long confinement, a party of military was 
called in to despatch the infuriated animal by a 
discharge of musketry, which was with some difficulty 
effected. 

To attest the authenticity of the serpent of the 
time of Regulus, Pliny expressly adds that the tradi- 
tion is the more credible, because, in former times, 
the serpents called boas, frequently found in Italy, 
were of such prodigious size that, during the reign of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 53 

the Emperor Claudius, so large a one was found on 
the Vatican hill, that after its destruction, a child 
was exhibited entire in its stomach. For many cen- 
turies, no boas have been found in Italy; though 
naturalists accord in asserting them to have existed 
there in the olden time; just as the kingdom of 
England, now wholly free from the larger beasts of 
prey, was formerly overrun with wolves. 

St. Isidore of Seville discredits the existence of the 
Lemian hydra ; inferring from its name that hydra 
only implied some torrent or lake which Hercules 
effectually confined within banks; thus giving rise 
to the tradition of his having crushed it with his 
dub. The traditionary monster, called a gargouille, 
said to have lived near Rouen, and to have swal- 
lowed a prodigious number of victims, is now 
admitted to have been simply a whirlpool in the 
Seine, destroyed by an alteration in the banks 
effected by St. Romam, when Bishop of that See. 
.The anniversary of this event, regarded as the 
deliverance of the city from a monster, was cele- 
brated at Rouen till the period of the first Revolution ; 
a prisoner being annually delivered by the city on 
the Festival of St. Romain in honour of the miracle. 
The gargouille or whirlpool, of Rouen, was but a 
modem edition of the hydra. 



54 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE JEWS. 



We have already alluded incidentally to the 
Jews. But the children of Israel have been too long 
and too perseveringly an object of persecution to all 
Christian nations, not to demand a more extended 
consideration. 

Mankind, in the present age, though scarcely less 
disposed than of old to exercise the tyrannical influence 
of the strong over the weak, appear to have substituted 
political for religious animosities ; and the war of 
sects has been converted into the feuds of parties. 
The days of the fagot and the pile are happily at 
an end; and instead of martyrs, sacrificed in the 
name of religion, the victim is forced to exclaim on 
the scaffold : " Oh, liberty ! in thy name, how many 
crimes are committed!" The number of human 
victims sacrificed to religious intolerance in the 
various countries of the world, would, however, afford 
grounds for a fearful computation. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 55 

The very existence of the Jews may be regarded 
as among the miracles of the Christian religion. A 
wandering nation, without King, without country, 
without secular laws, maintained together only by the 
strength of a common worship, could never have 
resisted the persecutions and proscriptions of centu- 
ries, but for the intervention of the chastening 
hand of God. Even in the coimtries where their 
existence is the happiest, stigmatized by public 
detestation, and in highly Catholic nations treated as 
lepers, as parias, as infected sheep — condemned to 
the hardest, and most ignominious tasks — ^beaten, 
spat upon, despoiled, plundered, tortured, massacred — 
a prey to the cupidity of the great, and the brutality 
of the little — such is the history of the Jews from 
the days of Titus to the present time. Nevertheless, 
they not only subsist, but flourish, in spite of the 
universal prejudice against the name ; maintaining 
imchanged, their laws^ customs, usages, and even 
physiognomy. The abhorrence with which they are 
r^arded by other nations, has necessitated inter- 
marriages from generation to generation, which serve 
to maintain the pure identity of the race. 

The Romans not only detested the Jews for the 
same motive which produced their hatred of the 
Christians, namely — the impossibility of converting 
them to the worship of the false Gods of Paganism, 
but confounded Jews and Christians together in a 



56 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

coramon persecution. Yet this equality before the 
tribunals and executioners of the Emperors and Pro- 
Consuls of Rome, never availed to diminish the 
mutual hatred subsisting between them. No amalga- 
mation was possible between them, even amid the 
flames of a funeral pile. Nero, on one occasion, 
attempted to illuminate Rome by means of Jews 
steeped in resinous matter, and thus committed 
to the flames. 

No sooner had the Christians obtained supreme 
power, than they began, in their turn, to inflict upon 
the remnant of Israel all the persecutions they had 
themselves sustained at the hands of the Romans. 
The Jews were compelled to wear a cap surmounted 
by horns, to show that they were pre-destined to eternal 
punishment; and in a Council held at the Lateran, 
at the commencement of the thirteenth century, they 
were forced to adopt for robes, stuff of a yellow 
colour, bearing the representation of a wheel or rack. 
During Passion Week, and at Easter, it was lawful 
to attack them with any degree of ferocity. In 
many cities, it was the custom to inflict corporeal 
punishment on a Jew publicly, every Good Friday, 
before the great door of the Cathedral; in some, 
a positive crucifixion took place ! 

Eight times have the Jews been driven out of 
France: Dagobert enjoined them to embrace 
Christianity, on pain of banishment ; Robert the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 57 

Pious issued the same edict ; Philip Augustus, after 
crucifying several at Bray sur Seine, caused all their 
synagogues to be burned, seized their possessions, 
released their creditors, appropriated to himself a 
fifth of their substance, and the remainder to land- 
holders of adjoining estates. Philippe le Bel dis- 
missed them the kingdom, leaving them only the 
funds indispensable for the journey. Nevertheless 
they returned, to be again exiled by Charles VI. 
Under Louis XIII, was issued a new edict of 
banishment. It was only under Louis XVI, one 
of the most humane of Kings, that the Jews were 
restored to rights of citizenship in France. Nor was 
their condition better, at the same epochs, in Great 
Britain and other adjacent countries. 

A singular chance directed the attention of Napo- 
leon to the condition of the Jews. A representation 
of Racine's "Esther" was given one night at the 
Opera for a benefit; and the following morning. 
Talma happening to breakfast with the Emperor, 
the conversation turned on the performance of the 
night before. As they were discussing the character 
of Mardoch^e, Champagny, afterwards Due de Cadore, 
made his appearance, who was at that time Minister 
of the Interior. Napoleon instantly began interrogat- 
ing him concerning the position and resources of the 
Jews in France ; and desired that a report might be 
drawn up on the subject, and speedily submitted to him. 



58 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Champagny lost no time in obeying; and the 
results of this acddental circumstance was the 
removal of the civil disabilities of the Jews. 

The prejudice, however, attached for so many 
years to the remnant of Israel, is far from extirpated; 
and though in more than one coimtry of Europe, 
the honours of chivalry have been bestowed upon 
wealthy Jews, influential in the financial operations 
of the kingdom, and consequently in its politics, 
the popular feeling against them is unchanged. It 
is even carried to a most unreasonable degree ; and 
the Jews are reproached with the very pursuite and 
professions forced upon their adoption by Christian 
p^secution. Commercial speculations were of course 
the sole resource of a people without coxmtry, and 
vdthout protection ; and though we are indebted to 
them for the useful finandal substitute of bills of 
exchange, we use the name of Jew almost synony- 
mously with that of extortioner, without regard to 
th^ commercial importance and utility. 

The emancipation accorded th^na in France, was 
given chiefly for consida:ution8 developed ten years 
before by Monsieur de Clermont Tonnerre, and other 
celebrated orators before the National Assembly. 

" The Code of Moses/' argued they, " is conceived 
in a twofold spirit — a religious, and a legislative. 
Hie political laws which it contains, have ceased to 
be important — being only applicable to a nation 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 59 

nationally combined and organized ; whereas the Jews 
are a scattered and wandenng tribe, rather than a 
nation. The religious laws are a case of conscience ; 
serving to enlighten the spirit, and guide the social 
morality of the childr^i of Israel. From the period 
of the destruction of the Temple, the Jews have 
politically ceased to exist; and these religious laws 
may be said to operate in France, upon Frenchmen 
of the Jewish persuasion ; in Poland, upon Poles of 
the Jewish persuasion; in Germany, upon Germans 
of the Jewish persuasion, and so forth.'^ 

Upon this showing, civil rights were conceded to 
them in France, on condition of tiieir contributing 
their quota to the maintenance of the laws and 
Government of the country in which they w^e 
naturalized. 

Till this epoch, a prejudice had prevailed in France 
that it was an article of faith and duty among the 
Jews, to deceive and defraud a Christian whenever it 
lay in their power ; and that they were bound, from 
the moment of their birth, by the Jewish law, to a 
strong animosity towards us Christian people. Horrible 
rumours have been revived, at different times, in 
different countries, of secret sacrifices of the Jews, in 
which the blood of a Christian was a necessary 
component. 

These questions were openly met and discussed in 
a manly and temperate manner, in the great 




•p 



60 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

Sanhedrim, composed of the highest and most 
enlightened Jewish authorities; when a peremptory 
denial was established to all these injurious charges. 
Prejudices nearly as absurd, and quite as groundless 
formerly existed in England against the Catholics ; 
the removal of their civil disabilities being equally the 
result of the progress of public enlightenment. 

As regards the question of usury so often imputed 
to the Jews, experience has proved of late years, that 
the most notorious extortioners of this description are 
of the Christian faith ; and it is a question of ethics 
to inquire whether there be greater turpitude in openly 
demanding an interest of thirty per cent for a loan 
of money, or in obtaining the san^e profit by sale or 
barter of commodities. A considerable niunber of 
tradesmen who pride themselves upon their strict 
integrity, require a much higher ratio of profit than 
the per centage of the money-lending Jews ; nor is 
it necessary to remind the reader that some of the 
most eminent bankers in Europe, renowned equally 
for their probity and liberality, are of the Jewish 
persuasion. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 61 



CHAPTER VIII. 



VERBAL DELICACY. 



There are certain words which appear to oflfend 
public deKcacy more than the very objects they 
designate ; till it might almost be inferred that all 
the sensitiveness of human nature had concentrated 
itself in the ear. The study of ancient and modern 
languages will attest the truth of this assertion ; for 
many things are to be learned in a vocabulary besides 
the idiom it pretends to teach. 

The stem Romans, for instance, who affected so 
stoical a disregard of death, would not allow the 
word to be pronounced in their presence ; though the 
lives of their children was by the law placed at their 
mercy. Their sense of delicacy would have been 
offended had it been mentioned before them that such 
a one was " dead." It was necessary to say, " he hath 
lived." In the noble defence of Milo, by Cicero, he 
dared not qualify by the appropriate word the act of 
assassination committed by the slaves of his client; 



62 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

but declared by periphrasis that under these 
drcumstances, " the slaves of Milo did what it became 
them to do." 

To the title of King, the Romans had vowed an 
eternal hatred, created by the traditionary opprobrium 
of the Tarquins, and their contempt of the innu- 
merable Kings subjected to their arms, ^nd dragged 
behind their triumphal cars. But when Caesar 
proclaimed himself Emperor, and assumed a more 
sovereign power than the history of nations had as 
yet recorded, the Roman people applauded the 
kingly office presented to them imder any other than 
the name abhorred. The same circumstance occurred 
in Prance at the commencement of the present 
century. The French, after devoting themselves to 
the extermination of Kings, hailed with delight the 
coronation of an Emparor ; though to proclaim himself 
" King" would have ensured the premature downfall 
of Napoleon. 

Of late years, the ears of the world have become 
more than ever chaste and refined ; and certain words 
freely used by Shakspeare, in presence of the Court of 
the Virgin Queen, and by Moli^re, in presence of that 
of the most dignified of European monarchs, are now 
utterly proscribed, and expunged from the modem 
stage. The fluctuations of opinion on these points, 
are highly diverting. Dean Swift relates that, in his 
early days, the word "whiskers" could not be 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 63 

mentioned in a lady's presence ; a fact we should be 
inclined to class among the ingenious fictions of the 
Dean of St. Patrick ; but that at the present day, that 
rational nation, the Americans, have not courage to 
pronounce the word leg, even in talking of the limb 
of a table or of a partridge. The false delicacy of the 
English takes refiige in a foreign language. All such 
articles of dress or furniture as are held of a nature 
unmentionable to ears polite, are named in French ; 
as if the word chemise were a less explicit designation 
of an indispensable under garment than the matter of 
fact word shift ! All this is contemptible hyprocrisy, 
and a silly compromise with common sense. Such an 
abbreviation as crim. con. conveys fully as indelicate 
an allusion as the same words written and pronounced 
in full. 

The author of the School for Scandal objected to 
so great a variety of words as coarse and indelicate 
from female lips, that there sometimes existed a 
difficulty in narrating to him the ordinary events 
of life. 

On the other hand, it is surprising how much may 
be effected by a change of name with those whose 
ears are more impressionable than their understanding. 
The French had signified pretty loudly at the 
revolution their national opposition to a conscription, 
and to the droits reunis. Against these exercises 
of administrative tyranny, they were prepared to 



n 



64 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

break into rebellion. Instead, however, of arguihg 
with their pertinacity, the Government wisely 
applauded it; substituting for a conscription, the 
recruiting system, and for the droits riunis the 
contributions indirectes. We should be glad if any 
one would point out to us what was changed in these 
two important departments of public service, besides 
the name ? This paltering, in a double sense, reminds 
us of the story of a Frenchman, who was examin- 
ing a library with persons more enlightened than 
himself. "Ah! there are the works of my friend, 
Cicero," cried he. " C^eron, c^est le mAne que 
Marc-Taller 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 65 



CHAPTER IX. 
aer6lites and miraculous showers. 

The fall of aerolites, often termed by the vulgar 
a shower of stones, is either more frequent than in 
days of yore, or attracts more general attention. 

The recx)rd of similar phenomena has, however, 
been handed down to us by the ancients ; for we 
are told of a shower of stones which, in the days 
of Tullus Hostilius, fell upon the city immediately 
after the ruin of Alba. 

" While the Senate was occupied in its delibera- 
tions," says Livy, "a shower of stones fell from 
Heaven upon the Alban Mount. The Prince, 
astonished at the report of such a phenomenon, sent 
to ascertain the truth, and found that a shower of 
pebbles had really fallen, similar to hailstones." 

Before the time of the Romans, the Greeks had 
witnessed similar phenomena. In the Thracian 
Chersonesus there fell a huge greyish stone, which 
excited the greatest consternation. 

F 



66 A WORLD OF WONDERS, 

A stone existed in Rome known as the stone of the 
Mother of the Gods, which had originally fallen from 
the sky, like that of the Thracian Chersonesus. It 
fell at Pessinuntum, in Phrygia, where the priests 
held it in great veneration. The oracle at Rome 
having given out that the fortunes of the Republic 
were secure if it could possess itself of this inesti- 
mable treasure, the Senate sent an embassy into 
Phrygia by Scipio Nasica, who enlarged upon the 
ties existing between the Phrygians and Romans 
through iEneas ; and skilfully setting forth the power 
of Rome and the protection she was able to concede 
to the Pessinuntians, the priests gave up the sacred 
stone. It was immediately carried in procession to 
Rome, exposed to public view, and an annual festival 
instituted in its honour. 

A similar stone, which stood near the Temple 
of Delphos, was equally venerated, and endowed 
with a still more marvellous origin; being supposed 
to issue from the belly of Saturn, the God of the 
stone eaters. Tradition recorded that Saturn, having 
swallowed it, and foimd it difficult of digestion, threw 
it up again, when it feU in Greece. Upon this point, 
Pausanias and Nonnus concur with the tradition. 

In the sixteenth century, a descent of stones took 
place on Mount Lebanon, accompanied by a luminous 
globe. Various other instances might be cited from 
the ancients ; but these may suffice to establish 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 67 

proof of identity between the modem and ancient 
phenomena. In most instances, they have been 
supposed to be of divine origin and of ominous 
nature. Damascius mentions that a physician of 
his day, named Eusebius, carried one about his 
person, which conduced greatly to the relief of his 
patients. 

In the sixteenth century, it is stated that there 
fell near the Adda, in Italy, nearly twelve hundred 
stones, one of which weighed one hundred, and 
another sixty pounds. True is it that Cardan 
makes the assertion, which is therefore doubtful. 
But Gassendi, who is deserving of credit, states 
that on the 27th of November, 1627, with a clear 
atmosphere, at ten a.m., he saw a luminous stone, 
about four feet in diameter, descend from Heaven 
upon Moimt Vaisian. It was enveloped in a luminous 
cirde of various colours, and passed at a hundred 
paces from two men, who estimated its elevation' 
at thirty-six feet. It gave out a hissing noise like 
a rocket, accompanied with a smeU of sulphur, 
and fell two hundred feet from the spectators, 
plunging itself three feet into the soil. It was of 
a metallic hue, and weighed fifty-four pounds; and 
is still to be seen at Aix, in Provence. The largest 
ever known, fell at Ensisheim, in Alsace, in 1492; 
its weight being near three hundred pounds. In 
the Abbe Richard's Natural History of the Air, there 

F 2 



68 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

is a description of a fall of stones which took place 
in 1768, in Maine; from which we extract the 
following passage : 

"During a hurricane that took place near the 
Chateau of Lucd, in the Province of Maine, a dap 
of thunder was heard, followed by a noise similar 
to the roar of a wild beast ; which was audible for 
many leagues round. Some persons in the parish 
of P^rign^ thought they perceived a dense body 
fall with great velocity into a meadow near the 
high road to Mans; and on hurrying to the spot, 
found the stone imbedded in the groimd. At first, 
it was hot; but soon cooling, they were enabled 
to examine it at leisure. It weighed seven poimds 
and a half, and was in form triangular; or rather 
it had three protuberances, of which the one plunged 
in the earth was grey, and the two others black. 
A fragment being submitted to the examination of 
the Royal Academy of Sciences, for analysis, they 
pronounced it neither to originate in thunder, nor 
to have fallen from the skies, nor to be composed 
of mineral particles fused by the action of the electric 
fluid; but a species of pyrites, giving out a smell 
of sulphur during its solution. One hundred grains 
of this substance yielded, upon analysis, eight grains 
and a half of sulphur, thirty-six of iron, and fifty-five 
and a half of vitrifiable earth." The evidence of 
science, however, sddom reaches the ear of the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 69 

vulgar; and it would be difficult to persuade the 
populace that aerolites do not fall from the sky. 

Aristotle, in mentioning the stone that fell in 
Thrace, rejects the idea of its coming from the 
heavens; and Fliny confesses that most naturalists 
are of the same opinion. This was a step towards 
the extinction of a popular error. Fr^ret denies the 
existence of atmospheric stones, and declares them 
to be volcanic emissions driven by the force of the 
winds. He supposes Mount Albano to have been 
formerly a volcano; and that the stones that fell 
must have issued from a re-opening of the crater. 
Falconet, the sculptor, wrote a volume to prove 
that Pliny was in error concerning atmospheric 
stones. While the learned world was thus at 
variance, the multitude was justified in asserting 
them to fall from the moon, smce men of science 
were unable to prove the contrary. 

On the 26th of April, 1803, there fell a vast 
number of atmospheric stones at Aigle, in the 
department of Ome. The peasants of the place, 
thinking it was the end of the world, fell on 
their knees invoking divine mercy; and even their 
betters shared their alarm. This phenomenon hap- 
pened most opportunely, as the world of science, 
both in Paris and London, was just then discussing 
similar occurrences which had taken place in India 
and Provence; and after most diligent inquiry. 



70 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

the Institute resolved to despatch one of its members 
to the spot. Monsieur Biot, an enthusiast in the 
cause of Science, arrived on the spot on the 16th 
of July, and collected the following facts. 

" About one o'clock, p.m., the sky being calm, with 
only a few greyish clouds above the horizon, which did 
not diminish the fineness of the weather, a luminous 
globe was seen, from Caen, from Pont Audemer, from 
the vicinity of Alen9on, Falaise, and Vemeuil, rushing 
with great velocity through the atmosphere; and 
immediately afterwards, a violent explosion was heard 
at Aigle and thirty leagues round ; lasting six minutes, 
and resembling a discharge of artillery followed by 
that of musketry, and terminating as with a roll of 
drums. 

" A small cloud of rectangular form seemed to have 
been the origin of all this terrible noise ; the broader 
side of which was towards the west. It appeared to 
be motionless throughout the phenomenon ; vapours 
being emitted after each discharge. The cloud 
was very high in the air. The inhabitants of two 
villages, situated a league asunder, perceived it as if 
exactly suspended above their heads. A hissing noise, 
similar to a stone hurled from a sling, was heard 
wherever it hovered ; and at the same time, numerous 
solid bodies fell, which being collected^ proved to be 
meteoric stones. 

" When tested, they were found to contain sulphiw. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 71 

iron in the metallic state, magnesia and nickel ; which, 
in the mineral kingdom have no analogy." 

Monsieur Biot also stated that the direction of the 
meteor was precisely that of the magnetic meridian ; an 
important remark, as a guide for future observations. 
The great point gained in this inquiry, is that the 
highest order of science, agreeing with the earliest pro- 
fessors, adopts what by progressive science was denied. 

The fact of showers of stones being established, 
all that remains to be proved is their origin. Some 
still assert that they fall from the moon; others 
attribute them to volcanos. Neither fact can be 
proved; and the descent of aerolites at present 
remains a mystery. 

One phenomenon often succeeds another; and 
shortly after the fall of stones at Aigle, a shower of 
peas took place in Spain, and the kingdom of Leon. 
This last phenomenon occurred in the month of May 
of the same year ; and, in Spain, fifteen quintals of 
an unknown seed were collected after a violent storm ; 
being round in form, white in colour, less than peas 
in size, and resembling no known seed. They seemed, 
however, to belong to the leguminous family of plants. 
CavaniUa, the botanist, analized them without being 
able to determine their class. These productions, at 
least, could neither be supposed to Come from the 
moon, nor to have a volcanic origin. Some of the 
seeds were sown in the Botanic Garden of Madrid, 



72 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

but without result. This is, however, by no means a 
solitary instance of a miraculous shower. 

Pliny, livy, Solinus, and Julius Obsequius have 
recorded showers of blood, milk, wool, money, and 
pieces of flesh 1 Those authors make frequent mention 
of such occurrences ; dupes, no doubt, to the traditions 
of the ancients. Lamothe Levayer, however, surpasses 
them all, and mentions the fall of a man from the sky. 
Unless from a balloon, or the scaffolding of some lofty 
building, we must be permitted to doubt ; though he 
may, perhaps, allude to some individual carried up 
by the force of a whirlwind; for in the autumn 
of 1812, on the road to Genoa, a mule was raised 
up by the wind, sustained during thirty seconds in 
the air, then disappeared in a ravme, where it 
probably perished. 

If we deny the existence of showers of blood, 
we must admit that there have been phenomena such 
as to justify impostors in propagating such delusions. 
During the Siege of Genoa, in 1774, there fell a red 
rain upon the suburb of San Ketro d' Arena, which 
caused much consternation among the inhabitants; 
the wind having carried up a quantity of red earth, 
which proved the cause of general alarm. A 
similar phenomenon took place, near Hermanstadt, 
in Transylvania. 

"On the 17th of May, 1810," says a German 
journal, "there was a rain of blood which lasted 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 73 

m 

a quarter of an hour, accompanied by a vident 
storm, and gusts of wind towards the south-west. 
Being collected on the spot by a physician, and 
submitted to the chemical tests of sulphurated 
nitrous, muriatic acid, acetate of lead, lime, water, 
mercury, and saponaceous spirit, it exhibited neither 
precipitation, nor loss of coloiu*. Tested with a 
solution of alum and fixed alkali, the precipitate 
induced a belief that the colouring matter of this 
strange rain pertained to the vegetable kingdom. 

To elucidate the mystery of the rain at Herman- 
stadt, it sufficed to inquire in what point was the 
wind. For on examining the localities in the south- 
westerly direction, the hills proved to be clothed 
with fir, in bloom, and the rain of blood was 
instantly explained. For in the North of Europe 
rains of a reddish yellow, impregnated with the bloom 
of the fir, constantly occur. 

In 1 608, the walls of Aix in Provence were 
covered with red spots, which the people conceived 
to be blood. But Peiresc, a man of profound 
science, undeceived them by proving them to 
be the spots left by a species of butterfly on 
emerging from its crysalis; the number having 
been immense that year at Aix. 

Till balloons and other atrial carriages are used as 
engines of warfare, we despair of having to record 
an authentic shower of blood, or any other than 



74 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

common place hail, rain, and snow. There is an 
instance of a shower of money, or rather of false 
coinage, mentioned by Dion Cassius; who states 
that a certain rain turned copper white, assigning 
to it the hue of silver, which lasted for three days. 
This is far from miraculous; as it requires only a 
portion of volatilized mercury to mingle with the 
rain, as in the instance of the fir bloom, to produce 
such an effect. 

Showers of milk are explained by cretaceous matt^ 
carried into the air by whirlwinds. The shreds of 
human flesh we read of are the red fragments 
vomited by volcanoes ; while showers of wool consist 
of the down of certain trees, such as willows and 
osiers. Showers of cinders are of course the result 
of volcanic eruption. The wind conveys them a 
prodigious distance ; for when Herculaneum and 
Pompeii were imbedded in lava, the ashes fell at 
Rome, and even in Africa. 

About a century ago, the deck of a vessel sailing 
from Marseilles to Martinique was covered with 
ashes some inches deep, which were known to 
proceed from an earthquake in the Island of St. 
Vincent. No other cause could be assigned, though 
the vessel was one hundred leagues from the 
island. The velocity of a cannon-ball or shell has 
been calculated; but that of the wind, like the 
origin of the meteoric stones, remains a problem. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 75 



CHAPITER X. 



NOSTRUMS AND SPECIFICS, 



The title of " Talisman" might be fairly prefixed 
to this chapter ; but we will content ourselves 
with the word nostrum. Considering the number 
of these specifics, and the blind confidence of the 
world in their efficacy, the credulous must be 
surprised at the ailments which still afflict humanity. 
Previous to the introduction of quinine, the ague 
was supposed to be cured by dipping in three holy 
waters, in three different churches, on the same 
Sunday; a difficult remedy for people residing 
where there is only one church! A variety of 
charms for the ague are still in popular use. 

Unsuccessful gamesters used formerly to make 
a knot in their linen; of late years they have 
contented themselves with changmg their chair as 
a remedy against ill-luck. As a security against 
cowardice, it was once only necessary to wear a pin 
plucked from the winding sheet of a corpse. To 



76 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

insure a prosperous accouchement to your wife, you 
had hut to tie her girdle to a heQ and ring it 
three tinies. To get rid of warts, you were to fold 
up in a rag as many peas as you had warts, and 
throw them upon the high road; when the unlucky 
person who picked them up became your substitute. 
In the present day, to cure a tooth-ache, you go 
to your dentist. In the olden time you would 
have solicited alms in honour of St. Lawrence, and 
been relieved without cost or pain. 

The greater number of these charms or remedies 
were not resorted to by the multitude alone, but 
recommended by Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. 
In the treaty on superstitions by the learned C\ir6, 
Thiers, these remedies are recorded ; bemg about as 
eJSective as the talismans of the ancients, including 
the famed Palladium of Troy. 

Rome had faith in celestial bucklers, and the 
stone of the Mother of the Gods. Virgil was 
skilled in the composition of talismans ; a brazen 
fly attributed to him attained more celebrity in his 
time than the immortal " Georgics." This fly 
being suspended from one of the gates of Naples, 
the charm proved so effective, that not a fly entered 
that city for a space of eight years. A trumpet 
held by a statue, also invented by Virgil, possessed 
the power of laying the dust in his garden ! 

Gregory of Tours mentions that the city of Paris 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 77 

was secured from rats, snakes, and fires, during a 
long period by means of a rat, a snake, and dor- 
mouse of brass, which were destroyed by the 
Vandals. Pliny suggests that Milo of Crotona was 
indebted for his prodigious strength to a talisman, as 
we know that of Samson to have lain in his hair. The 
Egyptian warriors wore figures of scarabs, in order 
to fortify their courage ; and Dr. Hufeland informs 
us that a German army having been defeated by 
the French in the olden time, talismans were found 
upon the bodies of the dead and wounded. 

Among the first talismans was that mentioned 
by Suidas as worn by the Kings of Egypt to endow 
them with the love of jxistice. Pericles was proud 
of wearing a talisman presented to him by the 
Grecian ladies. Macrobus relates that the victors 
in the public games used to procure themselves little 
boxes, in which mathematicians had inclosed pre- 
servatives against envy; while Thiers informs us 
that an illustrious astrologer invented a talisman 
for intercepting the approach of flies to a house; 
when to his horror, no sooner was it suspended, 
than a fly, more daring than the rest, deposed a 
contemptuous mark of disregard upon the charm. 
The absurdity of these inventions, it is needless to 
assert ; but let us consider the subject of the 
audent talismans simply as subjects only of curiosity. 

Talismans were cast in metal melted under the 



78 A WORLD OP WONDERS, 

influenoe of a constellation communicating some 
specific virtue. Amulets, talismans of a secondary 
order, but equally efficacious, were formed of plants, 
figures designed on ivory, metals, or precious stones. 
Such designs were called ^^ gafnahez^' — whence the 
word " cameo ;" — and were preservatives against fever, 
rheumatism, gout, tooth-ache, paralysis, apoplexy, 
cold, and other diseases. The Platonists were great 
champions of amulets and talismans. Gaffard 
wrote a. treatise in assertion of their efficacy, and 
to defend them against the imputation of magic. Not 
many years ago, the ladies of Paris used to wear 
iron rings, manufactured by the celebrated lock- 
smith, Georget, which, like the galvanic rings now in 
fashion, were considered a guarantee against the head- 
ache. A few uneradicated roots of popular prejudice 
will always remain to produce a new crop. 

How were simple mortals to suppose themselves 
in error when following such examples as Cato, 
Varro, and Julius Caesar ? The two first con- 
ceived that no evil could overtake them so long 
as they made use of certain mysterious words ; and 
Caesar, after falling out of his chariot, would not 
resume his place till he had recited certain words 
to which he attributed the virtue of warding off 
falls. 

Father Thiers relates that, in his time, the Bene- 
dictines of Germany and France pretended to 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 79 

possess medals which protected them and their 
cattle from accidents, sorcery, and witchcraft. Ac- 
cording to his version, about the year 1647, there 
was a vigorous crusade against sorcery, and many 
magicians were executed. At Straubing, several 
declared, when legally examined, that their maledic- 
tions were of no effect upon either the cattle or 
inhabitants of the Castle of Nattemberg, in which 
were deposited certain medals of St. Benedict, of 
which they gave the precise description. A certain 
number of initials were inscribed upon them, which 
being filled up with Latin words, signified " Divine 
cross, guide my steps, banish Satan, cease to tempt 
me, I know thy poisons, and will eschew them." 
No sooner did the monks hear of this discovery 
than they began casting medals of a peculiar kind, 
which soon aboimded in Germany. 

The French Benedictines became equally zealous ; 
and having struck a similar medal, published that it 
contained a charm against witchcraft and disease, 
and was a guarantee against all ailings of man or 
beast ; the former requiring only to carry them in their 
pockets, the latter suspended bell-fashion from their 
necks. 

Father Thiers so far from accrediting the efficacy 
of these medals, declares that the French Bene- 
dictines ought to be too enlightened to encourage 
such absurdities. But whether in good or bad faith, 



80 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

certain it is that they made a speculation of trading 
with the medals. Thiers also treats as impostors 
the curers of bums, and preventers of fire, who 
pretend to disregard the danger of fire arms. 
According to a popular tradition, a bum was cured 
by saying: "Fire lose thy heat, as Judas did his 
colour when he betrayed the Lord." A chimney on 
fire was extinguished by making three crosses upon 
the chimney-piece. Any fire was quickly subdued by 
throwing an egg into the flames, which had been laid 
on the Thursday, or Friday of Holy Week, during 
the celebration of divine service. No fire arms 
availed against a person repeating thrice, " Malatus 
dives fulgiter regissa," or wearing a band with a 
mystical inscription, every letter being separated 
by a cross. The learned father declares such 
practices to be absurd, and relates the following 
anecdote. 

" An old woman of Louvain, who had an affection 
of the eyes was assured she had only to pronounce 
a few mysterious words to be cured. She instantly 
addressed a young scholar of the University, offering 
to present him with a new coat if he would write 
the words she (Uctated to him. The youth consented, 
and seemed to write as she dictated. But on delivering 
to her the sealed document, he enjoined her not to 
open it till she was cured, on which she presented 
him the new coat and withdrew. Shortly afterwards, 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 81 

her eyes being recovered, she confided her secret to 
a neighbour suffering from the same affliction ; who 
taking the mysterious paper into her care, received 
the same benefit. Enchanted by their good fortune, 
they determined to know the secret, and broke the 
seal of the document ; which was found to contain the 
following phrase, which the youth had maliciously 
inserted. * May the devil tear out thine eyes, old 
witch, and fill up the sockets with burning embers.' " 
In the beginning of the last century, there were 
individuals who professed to have a powder which 
extinguished fire. This was contained in a barrel, 
and thrown into the flames. The barrel was in fact 
double, the external one being fiiU of water, the 
internal charged with gunpowder sufficient to cause an 
explosion ; and the water so dispersed, of course, extin- 
guished the fire, if inconsiderable. Had the authors 
of this invention not kept it secret, we might have 
respected them; for though it produced no great 
result, an idea though only half conceived may be 
the forerunner of more important discoveries. 
Attempts have been made of late years to guarantee 
thatched roofs against fire, by impregnating them 
with a preparation of which we know not the 
composition. The success, though not complete, 
should not be discouraged ; for repeated experiments 
may be finally successful. Flowers of sulphur are 
often employed for the extinction of fires in chimnies, 

G 



82 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

possessing properties which render the action of fire 
less intense. 

However absurd the miraculous virtues attributed 
to talismans and amulets, in some cases, the security 
they inspire may be of use to those who have 
faith in their power. Imagination counts for some- 
thing in the moral organisation of man ; and through 
the constant action and reaction of the one on the 
other, the body may be at times advantageously 
soothed by the serenity conferred on the mind through 
the influence of the fancy. 



J 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 83 



CHAPTER XL 

PHYSIOGNOMISTS. 

The world and its inhabitants are still exposed 
to a variety of grievous afflictions and visitations in 
spite of the infallible nostrums for. preventing them, 
in general use; which appears surprising when we 
consider the number of able scientific men constantly 
devoted to the study of our physical nature, and the 
plausible novel theories which they every now and 
then unfold to the world. Let those who devote 
themselves to the study of physiological science 
persevere in their researches ; which if not valuable to 
others are at least amusing to themselves. According 
to the Abb^ Cottin's line, 

" The pleasure is to learn and not to know." 

Between the successive systems of Lavater and 
Gall, we give the decided preference to the latter ; 
the studies and experiments upon which are 
founded on principles equally applicable to all human 
beings, whatever their condition, sex, age, or habits ; 

G 2 



84 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

whether belonging to an uncultivated or civilised 
state; while all other systems for promoting the 
knowledge of human - character, gravitate in a 
sphere more or less exceptional ; so that the appli- 
cation could never become general. An eminent 
magistrate used to pretend that he could capitally 
convict a man by a sight of his handwriting ; and 
many people affect to pronounce upon the shades 
and variations of human character on a similar 
indication. 

Considering the number of persons ignorant of 
the calligraphic art, we almost prefer the system of 
the barber of Picard, who needed only to shave a man 
to judge of his disposition ! 

All the inferential systems that now command our 
attention were subjects of contemplation to the 
ancients. Human physiognomy, above all, must 
have ever presented a subject of powerful interest. 
It is a daily object of reflection to all men, though 
unperceived by ourselves. A coimtenance pleases or 
displeases us at first sight ; yet we know not whether 
it be beauty that charms, or the want of it that repels 
us. A face which charms one man, disgusts another. 
Such a person is said to have a happy countenance, 
such another, an unhappy one, on which the former 
may be felicitated, the latter pitied ; but it is most 
unfair to deduce from such evidence the existence of 
good qualities in the one, or vices and defects in the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 85 

other. Such, however, is the elementary study of 
Physiognomy, and such the delusion which our anti- 
pathies often create. 

Dimension and proportion first attracted the 
attention of the philosophers. Aristotle compares a 
man whose head possesses extraordinary volume to 
an owl ; while Albertus Magnus looks upon him as an 
idiot ; and the physician, Porta, significantly informs 
us that Vitellius had an immense head. If, on the 
contrary, a man possess a cerebrum of the usual cir- 
cumference, but exceeding by a little the volume of 
ordinary heads, the same authors regard him as a man 
of superior intelligence, endowed with a noble soul, a 
brilUant and fertile imagination ; and, as an example, 
adduce the head of Plato which exceeded in propor- 
tion the remainder of his body. Alexander the 
Great had a small head, compared even with his 
person, which as is well known was diminutive. 

The quality and coloiu* of the hair was likewise a 
subject of speculative theory for the ancients. Lank 
hair was considered indicative of piisillanimity and 
cowardice ; yet the head of Napoleon was guiltless of a 
curl! Frizzly hair was thought an indication of 
coarseness and clumsiness. The hair most in esteem, 
was that terminating in ringlets. Dares, the historian, 
states that Achilles and Ajax Telamon had curling 
locks ; such also was the hair of Cymon, the Athenian. 
As to the Emperor Augustus, nature had favoiured 



86 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

him with such redundant locks, that no hair-dresser 
in Rome could produce the like. Auburn or light 
brown hair was thought the most distinguished, 
as portending intelligence, industry, a peaceful dispo- 
sition, as well as great susceptibility to the tender 
passion. Castor and Pollux had brown hair ; so also 
had Menelaus. Black hair does not appear to have 
been esteemed by the Romans; but red was an 
object of aversion. Ages before the time of Judas, 
red hair was thought a mark of reprobation, both in 
the case of Typhon, who deprived his brother of the 
sceptre of Egypt, and Nebuchednezzar who acquired it 
in expiation of his atrocities. Even the donkey tribe 
suffered from this ill-omened visitation, according to 
the proverb of "wicked as a red ass." Asses of 
that coloiu* were held in such detestation among the 
Copths, that every year they sacrificed one by hurling 
it from a high wall. 

Next in importance to the hair, were the ears ; the 
size and shape of which harmless cartilages, supplied 
important conjectures. According to Aristotle, large 
ears are indicative of imbecility; while small ones 
announce madness. Ears which are flat, point out the 
rustic and brutal man. Those of the fairest promise, 
are firm and of middling size. Happy the man who 
boasts of square ears ; a sure indication of sublimity 
of soul and purity of life. Such, according to 
Suetonius, were the ears of the Emperor Augustus. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 87 

Having considered the conformation of the head, 
the colour and quality of the hair, and the shape of 
the ears, let us treat of the complexion ; of which the 
most imfavourable is the yellow, livid, or leaden, like 
those of Caligula, Attila, and the most notorious tyrants 
of the olden time. The eyes should neither be too large 
nor too little ; the first announcing laziness, like those 
of the ox. Such were the eyes of Domitian, the 
vainest, most inert, and cowardly of men. Upon this 
point, Aristotle is at complete variance with Homer ; 
who is so enraptured with large eyes, that, in order to 
define the beauty of those of Juno, he names her 
Boopis or " ox-eyed." Neither large nor small eyes 
afford proof of intellect ; and no person who is not 
afflicted with squinting has any right to complain. 

It is usual to consider large eyes the finest, a preju- 
dice so universal, that it is conunonly said, " She is 
ugly* certainly ; but then she has such fine eyes !" — or, 
" She is a pretty woman ; but her eyes are too small." 
Whereas neither form nor dimension constitutes the 
beauty or influence of eyes; but rather tteir ex- 
pression. The colour of eyes is a mere matter 
of taste; though Aristotle asserts that persons 
gifiied with almond shaped blue eyes, are frank and 
intelligent ; with brown, clever and good ; with green, 
courageous and enterprising. As to black eyes, 
Aristotle pronounces them to be the sure prognostics 



88 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

of timidity and pusillanimity. Red eyes are indicative 
of bad temper. The gossips of France have quite as 
good a theory as that of Aristotle ; viz : that " Les 
yeux bleus vont aux cieux ; les yeux gris, en Paradis ; 
les yeux noirs, en purgatoire, les yeux verts, en enfer !" 

Bushy eyebrows are indicative of a brutal obstinate 
and impious character ; long eyebrows, of arro- 
gance, and insolence ; spare eyebrows, of effeminacy 
and cowardice. But if they are thick, flexible, and 
parallel, you may rely on a sound judgment and 
superior wisdom. Such are ever the brows of 
Jupiter ; attesting the theory of Aristotle. 

The question of noses occupies a prominent place 
in theories of the human physiognomy. The flat 
nose is indicative of a propensity to pleasure and 
luxury; the pointed, of ill-temper and frivolity; a 
deviation from the straight Une, of a disposition to 
malice and repartee. Since the days of Aristotle, this 
opinion has been permanent ; a crooked nose, being 
the attribute of a satirical mind. The owner of a 
diminutive nose, is usually cunning and dissimulating ; 
of a large nose, imprudent and discourteous. 

Let us here observe, that if there be one feature in 
the human face more characteristic than another, it is 
the nose. Examine the head of a skeleton which 
exhibits trace of human features, save the nasal bone ; 
which though prominent, is an integral part of the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 89 

cerebral globe. Now if the brain be the seat of 
intelligence, may not the nose be influenced by its. 
propinquity to the brain ? Humbly Submitting this 
question to the consideration of science, we proceed 
to consider the theories of other speculators. 

Amongst Europeans, the Italians rank first for 
beauty of nose ; the Dutch, for the excessive ugliness 
of that feature. The English nose is apt to be thick 
and cartilaginous; that of the Jews, somewhat 
crooked. In Prance, almost every man of genius has 
had a well-formed nose. Short and flat noses, so 
censured by Aristotle, still rank low in the science of 
physiognomy. Socrates, however, was a singular 
instance of a hideous nose. Boerhaave and Gibbon 
possessed one of the same disagreeable form. 

The mouth attracted the notice of the ancients 
as much as the nose. A moderate mouth was, 
in their estimation, a symbol of courage, capacity, 
and nobleness of heart. The indication indeed 
was infallible when accompanied with a square and 
well-formed chin, an expansive forehead, and firm 
and rosy cheeks. The Greeks did not confine their 
observations to the head and face in forming a 
judgment of the moral and intellectual faculties ; but 
regarded every component part of the human frame. 
Since, however, we are more discreetly clothed than 
the Greeks, we decline following their researches. 
The eyelids, nails, moles, and even teeth, were taken 



90 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

into consideration : more especially the latter, as indi- 
cative of the workings of the mind. If authentic, the 
science of phyfiognomy would be universaUy studied, 
for how useful would it be to detect the good or evil 
qualities of man or woman by a glance at their faces I 
As it stands at present, however, many false inferences 
would be made. For instance, we are told that well 
shaped blue eyes, portend intelligence and frankness ; 
qualities incompatible with a sound nose. But if 
found together, as is often the case, what is to be 
decided between two positive contradictions, the nose 
rendering impossible the virtues promised by the eyes ? 
The indications of the mouth and eyebrows may be 
equally at variance; and physiognomy presents a 
tissue of similar contradictions. 

Having established the fallacy of the physiogno- 
mical system, we must nevertheless render homage 
to the sagacity of Lavater, to his ingenious and 
fascinating system, and conscientious enthusiasm for 
an art which he has enriched with much valuable 
observations, and endeavoured to elevate into a 
science. Lavater was sincerely devoted to his art, 
which predominated over every other idea, and 
exalted his imagination to such a degree, that he 
became rather the poet than the disciple of physio- 
gnomy. Gifted with a highly impressionable nature, 
the countenances of certain persons used to haunt 
his memory ; and in early life, he made such striking 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 9 1 

inferences from certain physiognomies, that he was 
induced to persist in his studies. 

" My first attempts," said he, " were pitiful. 
Required to furnish a discourse to the Society of 
Sciences at Zurich, I decided upon the theme of 
physiognomy, and composed it with heedlessness and 
precipitation. 

" I was censured, praised, and laughed at ; and 
could not refrain from smiling, well aware how much 
of this was undeserved. At this moment, my phy- 
siognomical convictions are so strong that I decide 
upon certain faces with as absolute a certainty as of 
my existence." 

The sincerity of Lavater is undeniable. But 
even had we his convictions, we should hesitate to 
decide in favour of the infallibility or applicability of 
his system ; which is more the result of a peculiar 
personal sagacity, constantly on the watch, than the 
efficacy of the art. A man may be bom a physio- 
gnomist. But to become one by mere force of study, . 
is next to imposssible. 

Zopirus was doubtless a great physiognomist. 
One day, on entering the school of Socrates, he 
pronounced, at a glance, a man who was present to 
be extremely vicious ; and his conjecture was correct 
But such sweeping applications of the art of phy- 
siognomy would sanction calumny, by allowing the 
accidents of nature to be made a test of character ; 



92 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

when the influence of religion, reason, or education 
might have successfully subdued them. Were such 
a verdict held good, a fatal impediment would be 
placed against all moral improvement. Refinement of 
intellect is often connected with a coarse exterior ; and 
the most prepossessing physiognomy with the grossest 
violations of decency. " A pretty woman deficient in 
sense," says Madame de Stael, " is a flower without 
fragrance j" and how many scentless flowers of this 
kind are to be met with in society ! — The face of the 
esteemed La Fontaine was that of an idiot. Jean 
Jacques Rousseau was remarkable for a stupid serenity 
of countenance, wholly at variance with the impetuous 
and volcanic nature of his mind. The face of 
F^n^on was devoid of all expression. I have heard 
of two brothers, one possessing a charming counte- 
nance, and yet a rascal ; the other, a villainous face, 
yet a perfectly honest man. Moreover, our features 
are constantly varying ; and if oiu* moral and intel- 
lectual faculties are to be inferred from these changes, 
how are we to establish or follow up any fixed 
principle, amid such a labyrinth of confusion ? A 
system based upon the general development of the 
brain is far more rational ; because the lobes of the 
brain are born with us, and if time develop them, 
it is in manifest proportions. 

We admit, therefore, the talents of certain indi- 
viduals for pronouncing upon the characters of men, 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 93 

according to their physiognomy ; and that they may, 
by constant practice, enhance this personal aptitude. 
Individuals educated for a diplomatic career, ought not 
to neglect this study, proficiency in which is essential 
to their success. To divine, yet never be divined ; 
to read the physiognomy of others, while your own is 
devoid of expression, formed one of the grand secrets 
of Monsieur de Talleyrand. Most people who con- 
verse with a multiplicity of persons become physio- 
gnomists ; and if mistaken in their judgments, are 
less often so than those who have intercourse with 
few. But the civilized man is so diflferent from the 
being pure from the hands of his Creator, that any 
system comprising confusedly the state of nature and 
of civilization must necessarily be fallacious. 

Study Lavater, therefore, and practice his art as a 
recreation among friends ; but make no serious con- 
clusions drawn from physiognomical rules, which 
abound in contradictions* 

Let us now proceed to point out the similitudes 
of feature betwixt certain men and certain animals. 
Though we were created after the image of God, 
many theorists establish physiognomical analogies 
between man and the animal race. These specu- 
lators pretend that every human being had his cor- 
respondent beast in this world; just as every good 
Christian has his patron among the elect of Paradise. 
Charles Lebrun, the favourite painter of Louis XIV., 
was a zealous adherent to this theory. Before his 



94 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

time, Porta had devoted his attention to this ancient 
supposition ; and oongratolated himself upon having 
detected a likeness between the face of a setter and 
that of the divine Plato ; an idea which prompted 
further speculation. That a painter continually 
watching nature under every aspect should be allured 
by such a theory, m which his practised eye has 
compared and approximated objects, and detected 
similitudes unintelligible to the vulgar, cannot be 
surprismg. A mere hint, or trace suffices him for 
the composition of a face, just as Cuvier recomposed 
the Mastodon by merely seeing one of the bones. 

After profound studies, Charles Lebrun concluded 
that every human face had features more or less 
correspondant with those of the various animal 
species. His opinion rested upon a diagram, uniting 
a quantity of designs with an explanatory text. The 
designs stiU exist, but the text is not forthcoming ; 
though something is known of it by means of 
one of his pupils who survived him. Lebrun 
could distinguish by a glance at an animal's head, 
whether it were carnivorous, or herbivorous, timid, 
or bold, peaceful, or ferocious. To the bump on 
the higher part of the nose, he assigned the locality 
of courage. To ascertain this endowment, either in 
man or animals, therefore, you had only to cast an 
eye on the nose. " All men of eminence," said he, 
"have well proportioned noses, of which the 
aquiline has ever been esteemed the most dis- 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 95 

tinguished ; probably from its similitude to the beak 
of the king of the air — ^the eagle. The Persians 
esteemed the aquiline nose so highly, that supreme 
power was inaccessible without it. Cyrus, Artaxerxes, 
and every monarch who ever swayed the eastern 
world, boasted of this mark of distinction. 

Like all new theories, the paradoxes of Lebrun 
commanded much attention, presenting a subject of 
inexhaustible controversy, as coming within the scope 
of every one's observation. According to the system 
of Lebrun, the Great Condd enjoyed the distinction 
of possessing the most heroic nose in the kingdom, 
which, of course, brought the system into credit. 
Examine the designs of Lebrun. The analogy 
between certain men and animals there portrayed, 
is most striking. But the skill of a clever artist 
contrives and exaggerates resemblances, like the wit 
of the caricaturist, whose monstrosities, however 
absurd, often exhibit a remarkable degree of likeness. 

As regards mere physical analogy, nothing can be 
cleverer than the works of GrandvUle, whose animals 
seem to emulate our absurdities, habits, and manners. 
But Lebrun and his disciples looked upon the thing 
seriously ; instituting pernicious deductions from 
certain accidents of,fonn, and tending to approxi- 
mate enlightened man to the brute creation. The 
materialism thus inculcated, would lead to the most 
serious moral results. 



96 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XII. 

LAST WORDS OF DYING PERSONS. 

Are the last words of the dying to be considered 
prophetic? Is a supernatural intelligence vouch- 
safed to the last efforts of expiring nature? 
Examples are cited in substantiation of this belief; 
but the subject is one demanding the most serious 
consideration. Napoleon was of opinion that Hannibal 
was the greatest warrior of antiquity ; founding his 
opinion upon the fact that the Roman historians, in 
describing his character, must have rather disparaged 
than aggrandised the great enemy of Rome. This 
luminous appreciation acquires to be constantly kept 
in view. Every historian is more or less biassed 
with regard to the personages he describes. He relates 
events after their accomplishment, and occasionally 
miraculous incidents to enhance the value of his recital. 

The words spoken on death-beds may have 
been accidentally realized; as often occurs to the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 97 

prophesies of the living. But this does not confer 
the gift of prophecy upon every death-hed. 

Ferdinand IV., King of Castille, having heen cited 
by one of his victims to appear in the presence of God ; 
died on the thirtieth day. But the most remarkable 
summons of this nature was that made by Jacques 
Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, to Philip le 
Bel and Clement V., to appear in the presence of God 
forty days before the end of the year. At the 
time specified, Clement was carried to the tomb ; but 
Philip did not follow him until a year later, 1314, 
the martyrdom of the Templars having taken place 
in 1312. It is true that Ferdinand IV. condemned 
to death the Brothers Carvajal, unjustly accused of 
the murder of a Spanish gentleman ; and that their 
citation to the King in their dying moments was 
accomplished to a day. But the health of the monarch 
was, at the time of their condemnation, much impaired 
by the excesses of the table ; so that his approach- 
ing end seemed certain. As we observed respecting 
talismans, some imaginations are worked upon by 
encouragement, while others are aflfected in the con- 
trary sense ; and it needed no miracle for the menace 
of the Carvajals to hasten the end of the King of 
Castille. 

Sometimes a careless word or sentence acquires, 
by accident, a semblance of importance. At the 
death of Louis XV., all France recalled to mind 

H 



98 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

the words the Bishop of Senez had pronounced before 
him : " In forty days, Nineveh shall be destroyed/* 
Louis XV. died on the fortieth day, and the Bishop 
was thought a prophet ; a mere figure of eloquence 
having become metamorphosed into a prediction. 

Much such a prophecy was uttered in the Church 
of Notre Dame, by a priest named Beauregard, some 
years previous to the Revolution. " Thy temples 
Lord," said he, " shall be thrown down and pillaged, 
thy name blasphemed, thy rites proscribed. Great 
God ! what do I hear ! The holy canticles with 
which these vaults once echoed, are drowned by 
profane and lascivious songs ; and the infamous divi- 
nities of paganism usurp the place of God, the Creator, 
sitting on the throne of the Holy of Holies, and 
receiving the sacred incense of our altars." 

These words became remarkable when realized at 
the Revolution. But when they were uttered, the 
Revolution was already impending. Beauregard, 
endowed with a zealous and vehement nature, touched 
upon the probable consequence of a philosophy which 
he contemplated with horror; thus becoming an 
unconscious refutation of the proverb, that " No 
man is a prophet in his own country." 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 99 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE ANTIPODES — ^MORNING AND EVENING DEW. 

It is a gratifying thing when popular prejudices are 
overcome hy the progress of public enlightenment. 
The existence of the antipodes was formerly disbe- 
lieved. Before the spherical form of our globe was 
ascertained, how was it possible to suppose that there 
existed human beings under our feet standing with 
their head downwards ? 

Till the Newtonian theory was developed, it 
seemed impossible ^ut that persons so placed must 
fall into the realms of endless space. There is a 
general disposition in human nature to believe all that 
is impossible as well as to doubt every thing that 
really exists; and such was the incredulity of the 
world with regard to the antipodes. 

The ancients, who admitted many absurdities, 
denied the existence of the antipodes. The Fathers 
of the Church followed in their steps ; some indeed 
pronounced it heresy to hold such a belief St. 
Augustin expressly says, " Take heed lest thou believe 

H 2 



100 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

such a fable." In his treatise on the Acts of the 
Apostles, there is an argument remarkable enough, 
considering that the rotundity of the earth was then 
unknown. " Faith teaches us, that all men are from 
Adam. But if there were other men under the earth, 
they could not be of Adam. How could they have 
found their way to the antipodes? Not by land, 
for the antipodes are cut off from our hemisphere 
by boundless seas. Not by sea ; for the most expe- 
rienced pilot would not dare launch his vessel in such 
boundless space. It is, therefore, evident that the 
doctrine of the antipodes is false and heretical." 
Time and experience have taught us the folly of 
deciding upon topics exceeding our comprehension. 
Yet, perhaps, even now we deny a host of truths, 
which at some time may give us an insight into 
futurity. In great as well as trifling things, every 
day brings its tribute to the cause of truth. The 
antipodes are admitted to exist. The earth revolves 
round the sun, though once supposed to be stationary 
in its place in the heavens ; while the dew, which our 
ancestors believed to descend from heaven, is known 
to be an emanation from the earth." 

Such an error was pardonable enough. The dews 
are often made use of in Holy Writ as a term of 
comparison ; and the mercy of the Lord is implored 
to descend upon his people like the dews from 
heaven. After. many experiments in elucidation of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 101 

the origin of dew, a scientific observer obtained the 
following results. 

Having placed some plants under glass bells, he 
examined them the following morning, and finding 
them to be covered with dew like those left in the 
air, he cut shreds of flannel ; and placing them at 
graduated heights, found that those nearest the earth 
were first wet, and that the dew gradually rose 
towards the Righest. Upon weighing the shreds, he 
found those below to be the most saturated. ^Lastly, 
upon examining plants grown in green-houses, he felt 
convinced that they also imbibed abundant dew. 
These experiments excited attention ; and Muschem- 
broek, the author, had many imitators. Among others, 
Dufay, who placed a double ladder thirty-two feet high, 
in the centre of a garden, suspending tablets of glass at 
different altitudes ; so that each was equally exposed 
to the action of the atmosphere. He remained at the 
foot of theladder to watch theprogress of the phenome- 
non, and found that the tablets nearest the earth 
were the first moist, and that the humidity ascended 
gradually to the highest. Several other men of science 
repeated the same experiment with similar results. 

The problem was thus solved, and proof obtained 
that dew ascended fi*om the earth. To the joy, 
however, of some, a doubt presented itself By 
renewed experiments it was found that this dew from 
the earth did not equally affect all bodies, and was 



102 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

partial in its bearing. For instance, it appeared to 
avoid gold, silver, metal, and polished marbles ; whfle 
it adhered to glass, oily and resinous substances. 

Place a gold or plated vessel under a crystal vase 
in a garden during the night, and in the morning 
you will find the edges perfectly dry, while the 
crystal vase will be wet. The cause of this difference 
is not accounted for. Reaumur supposes, but does not 
affirm, that the golden vessel, containing more caloric 
than the crystal, repels the dew, while the latter 
attracts it. 

In confirmation of this supposition, Reaumur 
proposed the following experiment. Place a china 
cup upon a stone within a hot-bed ; and further on, 
and beyond the influence of the hot-bed, another cup 
of similar form, substance, and diameter ; this will 
be charged with dew, the other will remain dry. In 
explanation of this difference, it may be imagined that 
the phenomenon of which they soi^ht the solution, 
originated in electricity ; an opinion, however, which 
has no influence over the main discovery that dews 
arise fi'om the ground, instead of falling from the 
skies, as asserted by the mythology of the ancients, 
and the tropes of Scripture. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 103 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PERPETUAL LAMPS AND ARCHIMEDES. 

Stability is not the characteristic of man or 
his works. The discovery of perpetual motion has 
long been the object of our ambition; the sole 
approach to which appears to be our futile perse- 
verance in the pursuit. Let us be content, therefore, 
with aspiring to duration, a sufficient triumph for 
perishable man; and be it noted that this quality, 
though impressed by human art upon mert 
matter, such as the Pyramids of Egypt, is incom- 
patible with the mutability of our social institu- 
tions. 

The word perpetual has been too often and too 
easily applied. The marvellous is too often substituted 
for the true, just as great vices are more widely 
apparent than great virtues. Who has not heard, for 
instance, of perpetual lamps, miraculous as the 
Wonderful Lamp of the Arabian Tales ! 

The P^gan priesthood originated these fabu- 



104 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

lous sepulchral lights ; and those of our own faith 
who had the weakness to adopt their deception, 
endangered our confidence by recourse to unworthy 
trickeries. Pausanias mentions a lamp of massive 
gold, consecrated by Callimachus, and endowed 
with such properties as to endure a year without 
deterioration. Another is said to have existed 
in a temple in England. Pope Gelasius affirms, 
in the acts of St. Sylvester, that in the Bap- 
tistery of Rome, there was a lamp which had 
burned without intermission since the reign of 
Constantine, viz., half a century. That the dark 
ages should have admitted such marvels is not sur- 
prising. But one of the illuminati of the sixteenth 
century, Fortunio Liceti, composed a treaty concerning 
the existence of such lamps, asserting thatj upon 
opening the tomb of the giant Pallas, a lamp was 
found which had been burning since the times of 
the pious jiEneas. Another was stated to have been 
found in the tomb of Tullia, during the Pontificate of 
Paulinus, about fifteen centuries and a half after its 
construction. In the reign of Justinian, a portrait of 
our Saviour was discovered at Edessa with a lamp 
unrenovated from the period of the Christian era, 
that is, during a period of five centuries. Fortunio 
cites a vast number of similar examples ; fi-om which 
he infers that the Romans possessed the secret of 
making inextinguishable lamps. His conviction upon 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 105 

the subject is such, that he attempts to explain the 
possibility by a theory that the combustion of the 
smoke produced fresh oil for the nourishment of the 
lamp. This must surely have been the far-famed oil 
of the Phoenix. 

It is scarcely worth while to controvert such 
absurdities ; the fable of perpetual lamps having faded 
before the dawning light of reason. Is it, however, to 
be credited, that the genius of Descartes did not 
secure ,him against this vulgar error ? The views of 
that great man on the subject deserve to be quoted as 
a proof of the aberrations to which superior minds 
are subject. " After considering the fire produced by 
gunpowder," says Descartes, "which is the most 
transitory in existence, let us inquire whether there 
can exist a flame, enduring without the aid of fresh 
matter for its support, like those found in the tombs 
of the ancients shut up for centuries. I will not 
vouch for the truth of their existence ; but think it 
possible that in a vault so close that the air could 
never be disturbed, the parts of the oil transformed 
into smoke, and from smoke into soot, might, by 
sub-formation, arch themselves over the flame so as 
to protect it from the air, and render it so weak as to 
lose the power of consuming either oil or wick, so 
long as there should remain a shred unburnt by 
which means the primary element existent in the 
flame and identified with the little self-formed vault, 



106 A WORLD OF WONDERS- 

might revolve therein like a little star. It necei^sarily 
follows that the second element became expelled on 
all sides, while trying to penetrate the pores still 
remaining in the little dome ; and the flame which re- 
mained feeble while the place was closed, brightened the 
moment it was opened, and the external air admitted. 
The surrounding smoke dispersed, the flame recovers 
its vigour for a moment, and then expires. Such 
lamps, in fact, become perpetual, only from having 
exhausted their oil." 

This statement is extracted from the Fourth Book 
of the Principles of Philosophy of Descartes. In spite 
of the respect due to his name, we see in it only 
a tissue of verbosity exhibiting science at a nonplus, 
and advocating a groundless theory. But such a 
chimera on the part of so eminent a man, ought to 
afford consolation to second-rate capacities, as a proof 
that no one is exempt from delusions. 

From Descartes, let us turn to Archimedes, who 
conferred ten-fold power upon the arm of man 
by arming it with the lever; and with becoming 
deference avow our Want of faith in the mirror 
by the burning reflections of which he managed to 
destroy the Roman gaUeys ! 

" Combustible bodies," observes Descartes, " cannot 
be ignited by means of mirrors unless comprehended 
in the necessary focus. Geometry shows us that the 
distance of a focus of a concave mirror is equal to the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 107 

half of its sphere ; that is, if the mirror have been set 
from a sphere of a radius of one foot, the distance of 
the focus will be of six inches. A sphere having 
a radius of one foot, gives, therefore, but a focus 
of six inches, so that to establish a focus at two 
hundred feet, would require a sphere with a radius of 
four hundred feet, or eight hundred in diameter ! 
Besides, how could Archimedes procure such a 
mirror, when the art of casting mirrors was unknown, 
and the manufacture of glass in its infancy ? That it 
was a metallic mirror is difficult to conceive. Such 
were the solutions attempted of an insoluble problem. 
Doubtful anecdotes are so often and so boldly adopted 
by the authors of antiquity, that we may regard as 
unsubstantiated all facts upon which they are silent. 
Neither Livy, Diodorus, nor Polybius mention the 
mirror of Archimedes; so that the invention is 
probably modern, and most likely a fable of the 
sixteenth century, prolific in inventions and amplifica* 
tions. The press, then in its infancy, deUghted in the 
propagation of marvels and fallacies attributed by 
their imbecile authors to the ancients, so as to assign 
them some semblance of truth. Among such inven- 
tions was the mirror of Archimedes. 

Gallienus, indeed, mentions the burning of 
the fleet by Archimedes ; but is mute on the 
subject of the mirror, which he could scarcely have 
omitted, had the fact been genuine. Tzetzes and 



108 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Zoronas are the first who mention it; the former 
in the following words : 

" When the Roman galleys were within arrow-shot, 
Archimedes caused an hexagonal mirror to be made, 
and other smaller ones, each having twenty-four 
angles, which were placed at a proportionate distance, 
and could be worked by their hinges and certain 
metallic blades; their position being such that the 
rays of the sun reflected upon their surface, produced 
a fire which destroyed the Roman galleys, though at 
the distance of a bow-shot." 

The author does not condescend to give his au- 
thority ; relying for the evidence of his authenticity 
upon his confederate, Zoronas, who relates that, at the 
Siege of Constantinople, under the reign of Anastasius, 
Probus burnt the enemy's fleet by means of brazen 
mirrors. He states that the invention was not new, 
but belonged to Archimedes, who, as testified by 
Dion, used them at the Siege of Syracuse by 
Marcellus. 

The mutual confederacy of a couple of mounte- 
banks is as easily tmderstood as it would be suscepi- 
tible of annihilation; did not such men as Kirchen 
and Buffbn become sureties, not for what Archimedes 
has done, but for what he was capable of effecting. 
Previous to Descartes, the former had asserted the 
possibility of igniting combustible matter at a great 
distance by means of small plane mirrors, which 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 109 

could be managed so that the rays might be directed 
upon any given object. This was simply a theory ; 
but Buffon decided upon making the experiment, 
the result of which is well known. He caused to be 
constructed one hundred and sixty-eight little mirrors 
six inches by eight, and directing their rays towards a 
point, succeeded in igniting a body at a considerable 
distance. By this he discovered a new principle, 
viz : that the action of the solar rays reflected is in 
direct ratio of the diameter of the focus; proving, 
moreover, that by multiplying the mirrors, an 
indefinite line of combustion might be established, 

Can we infer, however, fi-om these experiments 
of Buffon, that Archimedes actually destroyed the 
Roman galleys? We think not; considering the 
silence of the Roman writers on the subject, and the 
progress of science in the time of Buffon, with 
reference to its discoveries in the time of the Siege 
of Syracuse by Marcellus. Whether this mirror 
existed or not, however, Archimedes must be ad- 
mitted to be one of the greatest geniuses the World of 
Science ever produced. 



110 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE LYNX AND THE CAMELEON. 

The title of this chapter seems to promise a feble 
rather than a dissertation ; and a very amusing one 
might be grounded on the attributes of the two 
animals, considering the perspicacity affected by 
poor short-sighted mortals, and the mutability of 
colour of so many a human mind. It is not, 
however, as emblems that we are about to treat 
of the lynx and the cameleon. 

The lynx figures extensively in the poetry of the 
ancients. Not only do they attribute miraculous 
properties to the eyes of the animal, as being able to 
see through walls, but Pliny assiu-es us that the 
excrements of the lynx were transformed into amber, 
rubies, and carbuncles. The nature or habits of this 
animal were so delicate, however, that its secretions 
were as difficult to discover as those of cats; in 
consequence of which much treasure was lost 1 They 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. Ill 

might as well have asserted at once^ that jewels found 
in mines were the produce of antediluvian lynxes. 
They proceeded, however, to attribute the optical 
powers of the lynx to a variety of individuals ; nor 
have modem writers hesitated to follow their example. 

Valerius Maximus, Varro, and even Cicero, speak 
with ecstasies of the powers of vision of the Sicilian, 
Strabo; who, from Cape lilybceum could descry 
Carthage, and count the vessels sailing out of the 
port ; the distance being forty-five leagues ! These 
worthies forgot, that even had the sight of Strabo 
been still more powerful, the intermediary obstacles 
caused by the rotundity of the globe must have 
circumvented his view. Caesar is said to have seen 
from Gaul all that passed in a port in Britain;, 
probably by a figure of speech purporting that he 
knew all that passed in conquered countries, just 
as the eye of Napoleon was said to survey at once his 
whole empire. 

About the year 1725, the marvellous history of 
a Portuguese woman set the whole world of science 
into confiision, as will be found by referring to the 
Mercure de France. This female was said to 
possess the gift of discovering treasures. Without 
any other aid than the keen penetration of her 
eyes, she was able to distinguish the diflferent 
strata of earth, and pronounce unerringly upon the 
utmost distances at a single glance. Her eye 
penetrated through every substance, even the human 



112 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

body; and she could discern the mechanism, and 
circulation of all animal fluids, and detect latent 
diseases ; although less skilful than the animal magne- 
tiser, she did not affect to point out infallible 
remedies. Ladies could learn from her the sex of 
their forthcoming progeny. In short, her triumphs 
were universal. 

The King of Portugal, greatly at a loss for 
water in his newly built palace, consulted her; 
and after a glance at the spot, she pointed out 
an abundant spring, upon which his Majesty 
rewarded her with a pension, the Order of Chrbt, 
and a patent of^obility. 

In the exercise of her miraculous powers, certain 
preliminaries were indispensable. She was obliged 
to observe a rigid fast ; indigestion, or the most 
trifling derangement of the stomach, suspending the 
marvellous powers of her visual organs. 

The men of science of the day were of course 
confounded by such prodigies. But instead of 
questioning the woman, they consulted the works 
of their predecessors; not forgetting the inevitable 
Aristotle. By dint of much research, they foimd 
a letter from Huygens asserting that there was 
a prisoner of war at Antwerp, who could see through 
stuffs of the thickest texture provided they were not 
red. The wonderful man was cited in confirmation 
of the wonderful woman, and vice versa. 

The Antwerp lynx, meanwhile,- had attained 



A WORLD OF WONDBRS. 113 

considerable credit, from the fact of two ladies 
visiting him in person, upon which he burst into 
immoderate laughter. On the cause of his mirth 
being inquired into, he stated that one of them had 
on no under garment, the truth of which statement 
caused the ladies to take a hasty departure, in the 
dread of revelations still more indiscreet. 

In the beginning of the present century there 
lived a physician at Lyons, who seriously asserted 
that one of his patients had the power of reading 
letters, though sealed. This was evidently a device 
to obtain notoriety, and fill his purse at the expense 
of a credulous pubUc. For what, in fact, can be 
more grossly absurd than the assertion that either 
human eyes, or those of the lynx possess the faculty 
of reading through opaque bodies ? Many attempts 
have been recently made by the upholders of Magne^ 
tism to exhibit similar impositions. 

From the lynx we 'proceed to the cameleon; 
hoping to exonerate this much defamed animal from 
the imputations of mutability so long lavished upon 
its nature. Instead of being adopted as the symbol of 
fickleness, the cameleon ought, in fact, to become the 
emblem of frankness and truth, betraying in its changes 
of hue every impression of which it is susceptible. 

The axiicieQts denied the e^astence of the cameleon, 
treating it as an ideal animal devoid of natural 
colour. They conceded to it, on the other hand, a 

I 



114 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

radiant body, and the faculty of existing without 
food. Such were the opinions of Pliny, Aristotle, 
and CElian. But Daubenton and LacdpMe devoted 
serious attention to the nature of the cameleon; 
and the scrutiny of science has served to rectify a 
popidar error. 

Cameleons have been brought alive to Prance, 
and a pair is now living in the Zoological Gardens of 
England. But till lately, they were known in Europe 
only through the preparations of our Museums of 
Natural History. This singular animal belongs to 
the lizard tribe, and is found in hot climates. Its 
length is fix)m thirteen to fourteen inches ; of which 
the tail counts for half. The head is surmounted 
by a kind of cartilagmous pyramid inclining back- 
wards. The mouth is so formed as scarcely to afford 
a view of its disproportionably large swallow. For 
some time too, the cameleon passed for being devoid 
of hearing ; but Camper has establidied that it 
possesses that faculty, though in a limited degree. 
The organs of sight on the other hand, are so acute 
as to exceed by far those of the lynx. It can turn its 
eyes in every direction ; moves with deliberate dignity, 
and feeds on insects. But is not entitled to the 
encomiums of the ancients with respect to sobriety ; 
though it can fast for a period exceeding a year. Of 
a pacific nature, it has numerous enemies ; and being 
timid to excess, its endless variations of hue are 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 116 

perceptible through a very transparent skin. Heat 
and light influence the changes of its colours ; which 
vary between yellow, red, black, green, and white. 

Mademoiselle de Scudery possessed a pair of 
cameleons, fJrom observations upon which, it was 
seen that adjacent colours produced no effect upon 
them; other colours than those near them often 
manifesting themselves on the body. Bichat sup- 
posed that the mutations of the cameleon proceeded 
from the quantity of air contained in the arterial 
blood; an opinion the better founded, that this 
animal is able to fill itself with air and discharge 
it at will. When asleep, or cold, or dead, the hue 
of the cameleon is white. Such is the exact truth 
concerning two animals which poets and historians 
have invested with fabulous properties ; and to 
which mankind have often been assimilated — by 
analogies now admitted to be groundless. 



I 2 



116 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



WILD WOMEN. 



No age has been exempt from popular delusions ; 
but there are oertain prejudices peculiar to certain 
localities. One of the characteristic superstitions of 
Germany subsisted so lately as the middle of the 
last century, as may be seen by a tradition of the 
date of 1763. 

^'At that time," said the peasants of Grodich, 
*4t was not uncommon to see wild women issue 
from the Wimderburg, and approach the youths 
and maidens attending their herds near the cavern 
of Glanegg, whom they asked for bread. Some- 
times, they would come out to glean in the fields ; 
leaving the moimtain betimes, and at nightfall 
returning to their haunts without even sharing 
the meals of their fellow-gleaners. 

One day, a little boy mounted upon a cart-horse, 
approached the Wunderburg, when the wild women 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 117 

rushed forward, and would have carried him off. 
The father, however, ran up and protected him. 
Unaware of the mysteries connected with that awful 
mountain, he demanded what they meant by attempt- 
ing to carry off his son ; to which the savages replied : 
*that among them he would be better taken care 
of, and that no harm should happen to him in 
their abode.' But the father held fast his child, 
and the women went weeping away." 

Another time these wild women entered Kiigel- 
stadt, a village beautifully situated upon the same 
mountain, and carried off a boy watching a herd. 
At the end of a year he returned, dressed in green, 
and sat on the trunk of a tree at the foot of the 
mountain.* The woodsmen and his parents went 
the next day in search of him, but in vain; nor 
was the youth ever beheld again. A wild woman 
from the mountain went towards the village of 
Anif, about half a league from Wunderburg, where 
she hollowed out a place of shelter in the earth. 

Her hair was of great length and beauty falling 
to her feet, and proved highly attractive to a peasant 
who chanced to encoimter her, and who at length 
vetitured to make an avowal of his passion. The 
wild woman inquired whether he were married; 

* The reader will be struck by the affinity between this 
Legend, and the Ettrick Shepherd's beautiful tale of " Kilmeny," 
taken from a Highland tradition. 



118 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

and the peasant not daring to own the truth, answered 
in the negative. 

Shortly afterwards, his wife, terrified by his absence 
from home, came in search of him ; but instead of 
upbraiding him with his infidelity, fled in dismay at 
the sight of the lady of the beautiful locks. The 
mysterious woman now upbraided him with his want 
of veracity ; assuring him that had his wife testified 
the smallest jealousy, she would have kiUed him on 
the spot. Bidding him be more faithful in future 
to the mamage tie, she bestowed a bag of money 
upon him, and was never again seen in the neigh- 
bourhood of Grolich. 

This story was treated as a jest by several French 
writers of the last century. Yet the age, so severe 
upon the credulity of the simple peasants of Wun- 
derburg, believed in the devices of Cagliostro and 
the miracles of Mesmer ! The extremes of science 
and ignorance may consequently be said to meet 
in the bewildering mazes of superstition. 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 119 



CHAPTER XVII. 



SYBILS. 



The existence of one or more Sybils in the ancient 
world has been distinctly proved. Classic authors 
are unanimous upon the subject. Suidas tells us 
that there were fourteen ; Varro, ten. CEUan asserts 
that there were only four; whfle Martinus Capella 
reduces them to two. 

Dr. Petit, however, the author of the Essay " De 
Sybilla," reduces them to one. Let us grant that 
the Sybil of Cumae was the only authentic Sybil, 
whether originating in Ionia, Syria, or Campania, 
Let us even establish that her name was Demo, 
according to Pausanias, though Virgil declares that 
she was called Deiphobe, and was the daughter of 
Glaucus. Suidas calls his fourteen by the common 
name of Eriphile ; Aristotle styles the Sybil, Malan- 
chrenes. After due consideration of these names, 
certain writers unanimously adopted that of Amalthea. 
Be it our business to inquire into the question upon 
the only reasonable grounds, namely, in a symbolical 



120 A WORLD OF WONDBRS. 

sense. A man had need to belong to Rome or Greece 
to entertain a due respect for the subject ; where the 
existence of supernatural beings placed by the Gods 
between heaven and earth, and predominating over 
Kings and their sul]jects, was regarded as a blessing. 
In those times, such creations had a salutary influence 
of which we cannot now appreciate the value. The 
ancient social institutions, of so many centuries past, 
are scarcely to be understood from books ; since those 
by which we are actually surrounded are not altogether 
comprehensible. 

Great was the veneration conceded to the Sylnls 
in Greece and Rome; in proof of whidi we need 
only cite the Sybilline volume — ^to discredit which in 
the olden time, would have been a matter (^ danger. 

It is known to all that a veneraUe Sybil came 
to Tarquin, and offered to sell him nine volumes 
of her prophecies, when her price being taxed as 
exorbitant, she threw three volumes into 'the fire, 
still requiring the same price for the remaining six. 
Still denied her price by Tarquin, three more of the 
books shared the same fate; and cm her adhering 
to her original demand for the remaining three; 
Tarquin assembled the Augurs, who advised the 
purchase, and tiie monatx^h was forced to submit 
to the terms of the Sybil. 

From that moment^ the Sybilline leaves became 
objects of veneration. They were made, over to the 
custody of the priests, and consulted upon occasions 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 121 

of importanoe after a decree of the Senate. These 
volumes were destroyed in the conflagration of the 
Capitoly eighty-three years before Christ; a severe 
calamity to the Romans, who looked upon the 
SybiUine books as a sacred charta. It is remarkable, 
that after the destruction of these volumes, the 
Republic gradually dedined, and fell under the yoke 
of the Emperors. 

Immense as was the loss of the volumes, con- 
sidering their influence over the minds of the people, 
the Augurs and Senate hoped to replace the loss. 
Zealous missionaries were sent to all the dties of 
Europe, Asia and Africa, which affected to possess 
SybiUine verses ; and more than two thousand were 
brought back. But we are to conclude they were 
fdr from genuine, as the SybiUine orades declined 
in credit. Augustus suppressed many of the verses, 
and the rest were burned by Stilicon, father-in-law 
of the Emperor Honorius. 

Id aU countries of the ancient world. Virgins were 
objects of worship ; and even as connected with Pagan 
idolatries, there is something beautiful and touching 
in the homage paid to virginal purity, more par- 
ticularly in contrast with the ferocky of manners of the 
early Romans. The most abject corruption respected 
the worship of virginity. No virgin could be immo- 
lated by the Romans; and Octavia was reduced to 
infamy ere she could be lawfuUy sacrificed to the 
vengeance of Nero. The Sybils were sacred virgins. 



122 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

which accounted for the veneration paid to them 
and their orades. St. Jerome expressly states that 
the gift of prophecy was bestowed upon them in 
honour of their purity. As to the Sybil of Cimise, 
she was said to have rejected the advances of Apollo 
himself, though the God offered to endow her with 
eternal youth and beauty ; to which she preferred the 
infirmities of mortal decrepitude in order to live and 
die in chastity. 

As society is now constituted, nothing founded on 
error, or the fi^uds usually called pious, can . be 
termed justifiable. Tarquin and the Augurs pro- 
bably understood the inauthaiticity of the Sybilline 
books; but it was their cue to create a deep 
veneration for them, and assign a divine origin to 
the laws, which in those days might not otherwise 
have been respected by the people. 

In the time of Cicero, the Romans had learned to 
blush for their own credulity ; and in the following 
centuries, were confounded at seeing the Fathers of the 
Christian Chwch return indirectly to ideas long fallen 
into desuetude. St. Ambrose, however, denounced 
such doctrines ; declaring to the early Christians who 
were disposed to seek in the Sybilline books exposition 
of their faith, that they were the idle production 
of fanatical women. 

The Sybils of old were apparently prophetesses 
after the manner of Joanna Southcote and Madame 
Krudener in the present century. The Sybilline 






A WORLD OP WONDERS. 123 

books, as existent in the days of St. Ambrose, teemed 
with frauds and anachronisms, proving the ignorance 
of their authors, as much as the credulity of those- 
who beUeved in them. The events of the Christian 
dispensation are as clearly announced in them as m 
the Holy Writ. The personages are even mentioned 
by their proper names. Isaiah wrote : " A virgin, 
shall conceive.** The Sybil is made to say, " The 
Virgin Mary shall conceive, and shall bring forth 
Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem.'* The Sybil also 
annoimces the Baptism of the Messiah in the Jordan ; 
the coming of the Holy Ghost under the form of a 
dove ; the circumstances of the Passion ; and the 
preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles. She 
pretends to have witnessed events long after the 
coming of the Messiah; relates the second confla^ 
gration of the Temple of Vesta, which took place one 
hundred and seventy years after Jesus Christ, in the 
reign of Commodus, and affects to have been in 
Noah's Ark ; yet is so ignorant of the Holy Writings, 
that she supposes Noah to have sojourned therein only 
forty and one days ; while Moses states him to have 
been an entire year. She also places Mount Ararat 
in Phrygia instead of Armenia. 

Such was the value of the last edition of the 
Sybilline volumes; conceived, no doubt, with good 
intentions ; but, as articles of faith, little better than a 
fiction. 



124 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

FORTUNE-TELLERS AND CHIROMANCY. 

Of the numerous family of impostors, composed 
of mountebanks, gypsies, chiromanoers, fortune* 
tellers, and sorcerers; the gypsies date from the 
fifteenth century, and were first seen in Bohemia, 
in strange garbs, with swarthy faces, and pretending 
to great proficiency in the art of soothsaying. 

They made their appearance in Paris, 1442; 
jffoclaiming themselyes to be pilgrims wandering in 
expiation of their sin. Among them, were a Duke, a 
Coimt, and ten Cavaliers. The remainder, one 
hundred and twenty in number were on foot. These 
strangers were lodged at the Holy Chapel, to which 
the Parisians flocked to obtain a view of them. They 
had sallow complexions and black frizzly hair, and 
spoke an imknown tongue. The females who 
accompanied them, devoted themselves to fortune- 
telling. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 125 

The Bishop of Paris evaitually exoommunicated 
them, and had them expelled the city ; a persecution 
which served to create an interest in their favour ; and 
returning to Paris, they multiplied both in that dty 
and in other parts of France to such a degree that, 
in 1 660, the States of Orleans found it necessary to 
rid the kingdom of them ; and subject them to the 
pain of the gaQies if they dare return. Treated with 
merciless severity, they gradually disappeared ; taking 
refuge in Germany, Hungary, England, and the 
banks of the Danube ; where they have remained 
ever since. 

Gypsies are known by different names, according 
to the countries they inhabit ; and constitute a 
wandering tribe in all the civilized states of Europe, 
stin retaining their pristine habits and customs. 

Public curiosity has long been directed towards the 
origin of the gypsies. Theologians first traced them 
to Cain on the following grounds: when by the 
murder of his brother, the elder bom of Adam had 
brought upon himself the supreme malediction, a 
mark was set upon him to secure his recognition, 
at that time mankind were white. The Almighty is 
supposed to have changed the complexion of Cain, 
that all men might know him. The gypsies, tb^e*- 
fore, who exhibit such remarkable complexions, and 
lead such vagabond lives, had every appearance of 
being a proscribed race; and the progeny of the 



126 A WORLD OF WONDERS, 

first murderer. Other theologiaBs make the gypsies 
descend fix)m Shem, the son of Noah, or Cham, the 
inventor of magic; for the gypsies pretend to be 
magicians, and to descend from Cham. Father 
Dehio asserts their sorcery to be so effective, that if 
you give them a piece of money, the others in your 
purse invariably take flight to join their fellow. 

The gypsies, uncertain of their origin, suppose 
themselves to have been expelled from E&ypt, and 
condemned to ^der the world for hav^refused 
hospitality to Joseph and the Holy Virgin, when 
they took refuge on the banks of the Nile. But 
even in Egypt, the gypsies are declared to be of 
foreign origin ; so ths^ the problem has still to be 
decided. 

These people ground their predictions upon an 
inspection of the palm of the hand. Juvenal distinctly 
alludes to female drawers of horoscopes. " Such a 
woman,'' said he, '' exhibits her hand and forehead 
to the diviner." 

The chiromantic principle has much analogy with 
those of judiciary astrology ; and Aristotle cites 
chiromancy as a positive science. Chiromancers 
divide the hand into several regions, each presided by 
a planet. The thumb belongs to Venus, the index 
to Jupiter, the middle finger to Saturn, the annulary 
to the Sun, the auricular to Mercury^ the centre of 
the hand to Mars, the remainder to the Moon, The 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 127 

• 

direction of the line of life is still undecided by 
chiromancers; some placing it between the thumb 
and index, traversing the centre of the palm ; while 
the Hebrew cabalists make it diverge in a quarter of 
a circle from the middle of the wrist to the first 
joint of the index. To denote long life, this line 
should be deeply defined ; when feeble and superficial, 
it implies a limited existence, (even if the person so 
qualified should have survived his eightieth year !) 

The triangle in the palm of the hand lis consecrated 
to Mars ; the three lines of which it is formed being 
regarded by chiromancers as most important, and 
comprehending the united indications of mind and 
body. The hepatic line proceeds from the liver, and 
forms one of the large sides of the triangle. When 
deeply indicated, it is characteristic of an exalted soul 
lyid magnanimous character; but accompanied by a 
propensity to anger and despondency. The mediana, 
which forms the base of the triangle, implies fi-ankness, 
sprightliness, and the love of pleasure. Should 
the thiunb and its root be furrowed with numerous 
lines, crossing at right angles, or forming ellipses, stars, 
and repeated circles, you are favoured by Venus ; but 
i^ould you possess the ring of Gyges, beware of her 
wrath. This name implies the circular line of the 
thumb, and indicates ah infamous death. Adrian 
Sider declares in 1639, a notorious villain who met 
his fate on the wheel had this awfiil sign on the 
first phalanx. 



128 A WOULD OF WONDERS. 

Between chiromancers and fortime-teners with 
cards, the sole difference consists in the means 
employed ; and if you watdi the sleight of hand of 
the latter, instead of listening to their chattering, you 
will be amazed by their dexterity. 

Card-conjurors are mere upstarts by comparison 

' with chiromancers, who were consulted by Augustus 

in the zenith of his power. Their art cannot have 

existed previous to the days of Charles VI., for whose 

diversion cards were invented. 

The miserable personal plight of these foreshowers 
of the future, is singularly at variance with their 
reputation. How many of them grovel in filthy 
retreats ; where for the smallest sum, they disp^ise 
their promises of fame and fortune. It is lament- 
able to think how many dupes such impostors 
stin command. Portune-teflers captivate the confi- 
dence of the vulgar, by predicting circumstances of 
frequent and common-place occurrence, with the 
certainty of occasionally hitting home. Should one 
of these by accident make a fortunate guess, his 
fame is established. But their extortions are unim- 
portant compared with the debasement of faculties 
apparent in those who consult them; whom they 
disgust with thm useful callings by fostwing 
hopes of impossible eventualities ; or keep weak 
minds in a state of terror for the mere guerdon of a 
piece of silver. 

There are examples of people being so awe-struck 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 129 

by the predictions of jugglers, as to fall their victim. 
A person has been known to die at forty, merely 
because that term of life was assigned him by a 
fortune-teller. A slight illness having brought to 
mind the fetal prediction at the appointed period, 
cerebral fever ensued which ended in death. Such 
a fact is mentioned by Dr. Bruhier in his work 
upon the Caprices of the Imagination. 

Though evil is said never to exist without corres- 
ponding good, it would be difficult to point out a 
compensation for the mischiefs of fortune-tellers and 
card-conjurors. Their predictions have often proved 
fatal in private life, and they have exercised their 
evil influence by urging Princes to acts of cruelty. 
The Emperor Valens having incensed his subjects 
by his tyrannies, certain of them, meditating 
his overthrow, consulted a soothsayer, who predicted 
future events by means of a cock. A circle being 
described with the letters of the alphabet aroimd 
it, a grain of corn was dropped on each, and a cock 
placed in the centre. The letters from which he 
pecked the com were immediately taken up and a 
horoscope grounded upon them ; and the cock having, 
in the present instance, pecked up grains from letters 
T. H. E. O. D., the conspirators concluded that the 
empire ought to belong to Theodore, the Secretary 
of Valens, a man of merit, and generally esteemed. 

K 



130 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

The crown was offered to himy which he was rash 
enough to accept ; but the plot being discovered, he 
and his accomplices were executed. Not satisfied 
with this act of vengeance, Yalens banished all those 
whose names began by the letters selected by the 
cock. But this did not prevent Theodosius the 
Great from being his successor. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 13 



CHAPTER XIX. 

ALBERTUS MAGNUS AND NOSTRADAMUS. 

In the year 1248, the Emperor William of Holland 
arrived at Cologne on the anniversary of the festival 
of the Epiphany ; when Albertus the Great, invited 
him and his whole Court to a banquet in a garden 
near the Convent of the Preaching Friars. The 
Emperor accepted the offer: but on the appointed 
day, there was a great fall of snow ; and the Emperor 
and his Court were much disconcerted by the 
invitation. 

But though inclined to avoid exposure to such 
inclemency of weather, they adhered to their engage- 
ment and proceeded to the scene of the entertainment, 
where they found the tables spread, but the trees and 
turf covered with snow. The guests were of course 
indignant at so absurd an arrangement ; but Albertus 
had contrived that no one could go out of the garden, 
by placing at every entrance guards of imposing 
stature. The Emperor and Princes having seated 

K 2 



132 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

themselves, the dishes were placed on the table ; when 
the day became gradually fine, and the snow disap- 
pearing as if by enchantment, the shrubs and 
flowers recovered their verdure and perfume ; while 
the trees suddenly presented fruits in luscious matu- 
rity, with innumerable birds perched upon their 
branches warbling heart-stirring music. 

The heat increasing, the guests were forced to 
throw off their outward garb; but no one could 
conjecture whence or by whom the dishes of the 
feast were produced ; the menials who served them 
being strangers, richly attired, and of the most 
courteous deportment. The feast being at an end, 
servitors and birds vanished ; the turf lost its verdure, 
the flowers their odour ; and the snow re-appeared as 
if in the gloom of winter. The outward garments of 
the guests were, of course, resumed ; and aU persons 
repaired to a vast hall, where a good fire was 
blazing. 

The Emperor, gratified with this wonderfiil enter- 
tainment, endowed the convent of which Albertus was 
a member with a valuable estate; expressing great 
esteem for the skill and dexterity of his entertainer. 

Such is the monkish legend ; nor is it worth while 
to contest such absurdities, no one being weak enough 
to believe seriously in tales of enchantment worthy 
only to figure in the pages of a romance. 

Many such marvels are recorded of Albertus, en- 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 133 

titling us to believe him a sorcerer, and the ally 
of Satan. But he is known to have been, like 
Friar Bacon, one of the most enlightened men of 
the thirteenth century; and it often happens, that 
in order to enhance the fame of illustrious per- 
sons, their biographers have resource to exaggera- 
tions that deteriorate their well-won fame. Such 
was the case with Nostradamus; who, in spite of 
himself, was made a prophet. The real name of 
Nostradamus, was Michael of Notre-Dame, but a 
custom prevailed in his time of latinizmg names; 
and Nostradamus was one of the high-sounding 
titles likely to ensure popularity. Among the French, 
it enjoyed equal fame with that of Matthew Lansberg 
among the Germans. 

The family of Nostradamus was of Jewish extrac- 
tion, and proclaimed itself descended from Issachar ; 
a personage reputed to have been profoundly versed 
in chronological science. Michael was bom, Decem- 
ber 14, 1503, at twelve precisely, in the village 
of St. Remi, in Provence. He studied at Avignon, 
where he distinguished himself in rhetoric ; then 
proceeded to Montpellier for the study of medicine. 
Having attained the degree of Doctor at twenty-six, 
an unusual occiurence, he was considered the suc- 
cessor of Hippocrates and Galen ; but disdaining all 
earthly vocations, he devoted himself to astrology, 
and mysterious sp^ulations upon the future. 



134 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Nostradamus first published his Ephemeris, pro- 
claiming agricultural epochs, eclipses, phases of the 
moon, the returns of the season, and the variations 
of atmosphere ; and predicted the approach of 
epidemics, the progress of governments, the births 
and marriages of the great; peace, war, land, and 
sea fights, and many other things, which, as a matter 
of course, must be realized in some part or other 
of the world. His predictions were so fortunate, 
that he was soon acknowledged to be a prophet ; 
every one seeking to benefit by his vast enlighten- 
ment. The wily man, aware that speculation upon 
popular prejudices is a sure road to fortune, and 
seeing the love of the marvellous predominate, soon 
laid aside his almanack, and gave full play to his 
fecund im^igination as a soothsayer. 

Had Nostradamus been only a man of profound 
science, he would have pined in obscurity; but as 
affording diversion for the Court of France, his fame 
soon prevailed throughout Europe, When his pre- 
dictions first appeared, in 1555, they had such 
success, that Henry 11. and Catherine de Medicis 
invited him to Paris. 

Enriched by their munificence, he returned to his 
vocation in Provence ; and four years later, the Duke 
of Savoy and Marguerite of Prance, on their way to 
Nice, visited Nostradamus at Salon. The Duchess 
being enceintey the Duke desired io know the 



■ / 

/ 



/ 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 135 

probable sex of the issue; a tolerable safe order 
of prediction as the chances of verification are 
even. In this case, he foretold a son who afterwards 
became the greatest Captain in Europe— Charles 
Emanuel, Duke of Savoy. 

The system of Nostradamus was partly original ; 
but grafted upon several others. He not only 
consulted the stars to cast a nativity, but the form and 
features of the party. The Governor of Henry IV. 
wishing to have the horoscope of his youthful master, 
applied to him, when he demanded to see the royal 
youth naked. Henry at first resisted, thinking it 
a trick, and that they perhaps meant to castigate 
him unjustly; but finally consented, and after the 
examination, it was predicted that he would become 
King of France, and enjoy a long reign. 

These facts are avouched by the biographers of 
Nostradamus; who, though, he predicted the future 
to others, was unable to foiiesee his approaching end. 
He died in July 1566, s^d sixty^two; but his fame 
survived him, and his tomb became a kind of 
shrine, being inscribed with testimonials to his pro- 
found sdence and miraculous qua£ties^ Louis XIIL 
visited it in 1622, and Louis XIY. in 1660. 

Like most men possessed of high renown, who 
profit by the ereduHty- of their contemporaries, he 
had a host of fanatical adulators. Among them, none 
more enthusiastically devoted than a man named 



136 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Chavigny, who abandoned every thing to follow the 
fortune of the prophet, and received his last sigh. 
Chavigny became the interpreter and eulogist of his 
great master, as he had been the depository of his 
secrets. He even ventured upon some posthumous 
predictions. 

Inconsolable for the loss of his illustrious master, 
Chavigny, abandoned Provence, and settled at Lyons ; 
where he solaced his regrets by reflecting upon the 
predictions and discoveries of the great astrologer. 
He commented upon three hundred stanzas of the 
great work of Nostradamus, the result of thirty years* 
study ; and published the first part of the " French 
Janus,'* or rather, a partial explanation of his pro- 
phecies. In this curious work, Chavigny collated, 
compared and approximated the stanzas bearing 
reference to the events of his own century; and 
composed a chronological table, so remarkable for 
order and method, as to impose upon superficial 
minds. So singularly happy are some of the stanzas 
of Nostradamus, and their associations with history 
are so striking, that the renowned Doctor might 
almost pass for having been inspired. Such, at 
least, is the opinion of many who have strictly 
examined the work. 

In 1695, one Guinaud, one of the royal pages 
and a zealous supporter of Nostradamus, proposed 
to reconcile the prophecies of Nostradamus with 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 137 

history, from the time of Hemy 11. till that of 
Louis XIV. Presuming upon his genius for ex- 
position, he undertook to prove that nothing could be 
dearer and less mysterious than the predictions of 
his favourite astrologer. 

In support of this opinion, he applies the follow- 
ing lines to the massacre of St. Bartholomew : 

Le gros airain qui lea heures ordonne ; 

Sur le tr6pas du tyran cassera ; 
Fleurs plainte et cris, eau glace, pain ne donne, 

V.S.C. Paix, Farm^ passera. 

The explanation of Guinaud is, perhaps, more 
striking than the lines of Nostradamus. The " gros 
airainy^ he declares to be the little bell of the 
palaces. In the " tripos du tyran,^ he foresees 
the death of Coligny; and in the initials " F.S.C.,** 
he finds an unaccountable indication of Philip II. and 
Charles V. 

The other analogies were equally far-fetched ; and, 
as is not unusually the case, the absurdity of the 
annotation was visited upon the original work. 

The prophesies of Nostradamus, like those of 
Merlin, are now nothing more than a literary 
curiosity. 



138 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XX. 

LEECHES, SERPENTS, AND THE SONG OF THE DYING 

SWAN. i 



In the conclusions of naturalists there is much 
to respect. But we must heware of false inferences. 

For instance, no one will deny that swallows skim 
the surface of the earth on the approach of a storm. 
But it is simply because insects then swarm in 
the lower regions of the atmosphere. The swallows 
seek their prey where instinct teaches them that it 
is most abundant; not because a peculiar sympathy 
warns them of the coming storm. Swans, ducks, 
goslings, also, indicate hot weather by plunging oftener 
than usual, because the temperature being oppressive, 
they seek a fresher one under the water. 

In the list of meteorological animals, leeches hold 
a prominent place. An English physician pretends 
that they are lively when the sky is clear and serene, 
and raise their heads above water to breathe the 
pure air. But if the sky be gloomy and clouded, 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 139 

they conceal themselves in the mud, and are evidently 
agitated at the approach of storms. The Mowing 
are the observations of Dr. Vitet, in his "Treaty 
on Medical Leeches.'* 

" Close up a quantity of leeches in jars of equal 
size containing the same water, and expose them 
together to the open air. Never will you see identity 
of action. In ohe jar, they are at the surface, in 
another at the bottom, while in another they will be 
completely out of the water sticking to the cover. 
Again, you will see all the leeches of the same jar 
in an these (Merent positions; some adhering by 
their tails from the borders of the jar, others balancing 
themselves with the most perfect regularity. It 
follows, therefore, that leeches are devoid of meteoro- 
logical susceptibility." 

Had not Dr. Vitet made his experiments on so 
large a scale, a single leech, well-watched, would 
always have been said to announce changes of 
weather and temperatiu*e. In the case of the Rana 
Arboria, or tree-frog, which is sometimes confined 
in a glass jar to form a sort of living weather-glass, 
it may be noticed that, when two frogs of the same 
species are kept in the same glass, one is sure to 
be found at the top of the ladder and one at the 
bottom, proving how little such indications are to 
be depended upon. 



140 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

To leeches is attributed another peculiarity, equally 
groundless ; the faculty, namely, of ridding us of our 
corrupt blood, while they respect the pure; a fact 
disproved by daily experience. 

According to a popular prejudice in many countries, 
snakes and vipers will creep down the throats of 
persons imprudent enough to sleep in the open 
fields with their mouths open ; and strange things are 
related on this subject, especially in Germany. 

About fifty years ago, the German newspapers 
annoxmced that in Styria a young girl being asleep 
with her mouth open, a viper made its way into 
her throat. She was not aware of the tact; 
but a few days afterwards began to experience an 
insupportable irritation. On a subsequent day, the 
viper reappeared by the channel it had penetrated, 
hissing and raising itself on its tail as if overjoyed 
at its emandpation; and immediately afterwards, the 
girl vomited a quantity of viper's eggs. This anec- 
dote so charmed the French journalists, that they 
republished it in various directions, neither suspecting 
that they were renewing a fable of the Greeks, 
nor inquiring whether vipers were oviparous. 

The adventures of the Styrian girl was nearly 
forgotten, when a French surgeon gave a fi'esh version 
of it in the following shape : • 

" In the month of June, 1 806, a child of four years 



A WORLD OF WONDERS, 141 

old having fallen asleep on the bank of the Canal 
de L'Ourcq with her mouth open, a snake crept 
in and passed into her stomach, where it remained 
for nineteen days ; at the expiration of which, the 
child accidentally drank a glass of white wine, when 
forth came the snake in the presence of her whole 
family !" Witnesses were found to attest the fact ; 
and the medical man who attended the child, asserted 
the reptile to have been eighteen inches long ! Dr. 
Masson, surgeon to the civil Hospitals of Paris, 
made a report upon the subject to the Faculty of 
Medicine, attributing the attraction of the snake to 
the child having fed upon bread and milk, the 
predilection of those reptiles for that sustenance 
being well known. 

Before we return to the above subject, we may 
as well inquire whether the predilection of snakes 
for milk be reafly true. The French peasants agree 
in this opinion with Pliny, Aldovrandus and Gesner. 
Yet all are wrong. Snakes are furnished with 
numerous little teeth at the extremity of their 
mouths, that their prey may not escape; so that 
if they sucked the cows as asserted by the peasants, 
their teeth must become inextricably entangled in 
the udder. The diminution of the milk in the dairies 
of the French provinces, is nevertheless often most 
conveniently ascribed to the interposition of snakes, 
innocent at least of this species of mischief 



142 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

- We must, therefore, oondude that Dr. Masson's 
little patient was not the victim of the passion of 
the snake in question for milk. Is it credible, 
however, that a snake eighteen inches long could 
introduce itself into the mouth of a sleeping child 
without awaking it, or creep down the sesophagus 
and into the stomach without being perceived ? The 
marvellous snake was probably nothing more than 
a worm such as is frequently ejected from the 
mouths of children. 

Snakes, vipers, and serpents have always been 
leading features in fable, and, at times, in history. 
Without alluding to the serpent-tempter, we have 
the serpent of Aaron, which also serves as the attri- 
bute of Esculapius, and ornaments the Caduceus of 
Mercury. We have the serpent Python, and those 
which entwined themselves round the Laocoon and 
his sons; the serpent concealed under the flowers, 
whose sting caused the death of Eurydice ; and finally, 
the asp of Cleopatra. But upon such matters, the 
modems have gone far beyond the ancients. If, for 
instance, the asp which bit the bosom of Cleopatra 
had pertained to the species which Father Charl^oix 
saw at Paraguay, it might have been the rival of 
Anthony ; for the Padre expressly asserts that serpents 
are ever on the watch to carry off females in the 
forests of that province. These may be considered 
rivals to the Great Sea Serpent of the Americans. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS- 143 

Bertholin, the learned Swedish doctor, relates strange 
anecdotes of lizards, toads and frogs ; stating that a 
woman, thirty years of age, being thirsty, drank 
plentifully of water at a pond. At the end of a 
few months, she experienced singular movements 
in her stomach, as if something were crawling up 
and down ; and alarmed by the sensation, consulted 
a medical man, who prescribed a dose of orvietan in 
a decoction of fumitary. Shortly afterwards, the 
irritation of the stomach increasing, she vomited 
three toads and two young lizards, after which, she 
becsune more at ease. In the spring following, 
however, her irritation of the stomach was renewed; 
and aloes and bezoar being administered, she vomited 
three female frogs, followed the next day by their 
numerous progeny. In the month of January following, 
she vomited five more living frogs, and in the course 
of seven years, ejected as many as eighty. Dr. 
Bertholin protests that he heard them croak in her 
stomach ! The utter incompatibility of the nature 
of these reptiles with the temperature of the hiunan 
stomach, renders denial of the truth of this scientific 
aqecdote almost superfluous. 

The Journal des D^bats, then called the Journal 
de TEmpire, published the following circumstances 
as having taken place at Joinville, in the Department 
of the Meuse. 

"Marie Ragot, a widow, having complained for 



144 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

two years of a distaste for food, and suffered fi*om 
internal cramps. 

"These symptoms were at first attributed to an 
aneurism of the viscera; but were soon found 
to proceed from some strange substance in the 
stomach. After two months, Marie Ragot ejected 
from her mouth a living reptile in the presence of 
many; who, on seeing it creep away, in the hurry 
of the moment, inconsiderately crushed it. This 
reptile belonging to the lizard class, was thin and 
long, its colour light grey, brown on the back, and 
dark yeUow under the belly: It had four small legs, 
each having nail-tipped feelers, a triangular head, 
rather obtuse at the nose, bent, a short tail and 
filiform at the extremity. This is all we have been 
able to learn, the witnesses having stupidly destroyed 
the reptile. Ragot died soon afterwards, and it 
remains undecided whether her death was caused by 
the reptile remaining so long in her stomach. The 
lizard we have described was doubdess the grey 
common wall lizard. It is supposed to have crept 
into her mouth when asleep." 

While occupied by consideration of the marvels of 
physiological history, we must not omit to mention 
the song of the Dying Swan ; formerly applied as a 
standard of composition for the highest pitch which 
melody could attain, and as typical of the last strains 
emanating from the soul of the poet. Virgil, Fdnflon 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 145 

and Shakspeare, are known as the Swan of Mantua, 
the Swan of Cambray, and Swan of Avon. Pliny, 
whose propensity for handing down popular fallacies 
we have already noticed, says, in treating of the 
gift of song conceded to swans by the poets : " The 
doleful strain attributed to the swan, at the moment 
of death, is a prejudice disproved by experience." 
Modern observation confirms his opinion that the 
song of the swan is a mere metaphor. To urge this 
matter further would be equivalent to pleading after 
judgment ; had not Dr. Bertholin, who attended the 
woman of the eighty frogs, endeavoured to revive 
the idea of the ancients ; quoting the declaration of 
one of his friends, Gr^goire Wilhelmi, that having 
seen one of a flight of swans expire, the others 
hastened to its aid, giving forth harmonious sounds, 
as if singing the funeral dirge of their departed 
companion. 

This story is evidently a romantic fiction. But 
if the domestic swan be mute, it is not so with 
the wild one, which is guilty of the most dis- 
cordant noises, instead of the fabulous harmony so 
long attributed to it. The Abbd Amaud care- 
fully observed two wild swans which sought refuge 
on the waters of Chantilly, more particularly^ as re|^ 
garded their cries. Buffon notices that they have* a 

L 



146 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

shri]!, piercing shriek, far from agreeable, and are 
quite insensible to the sound of music. 

The song of the swan, therefore, must be ad- 
mitted to be as much a creation of the poets as the 
song of the syrens which, according to Homer, 
attracted the vessel of Ulysses. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 147 



CHAPTER XXL 



NEGROES. 



Two important questions present themselves with 
r^ard to negroes : first, the lawfulness or expediency 
of slavery; and secondly, the comparative equality 
of the whites and blacks. The History of the World 
teaches us that slavery is independent of coloiu", and 
existed every where of old, under every form of 
Government. But the abolition of slavery was the 
work of the Christian religion, of which it is one of 
the noblest mercies ; and let us never forget the 
saying of Montesquieu, " that it is our business to 
prove the negroes less than men, lest they prove us to 
be less than Christians.*' 

The celebrated Abb^ Gr^goire was one of the 
most zealous and persevering advocates of the negroes. 
So enthusiastic was he in their cause, that he might 
have been supposed to have imdertaken it as a 
reproach to their white brethren. 

With regard to the question of innate equality 
between the two races, we cannot conceive a more 

L 2 



148 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

apt illustration than that made by a Creole child, on 
hearing at his father's table, a discussion upon 
negroes, a subject on which most colonists differ 
entirely from the Abb^ Grdgoire. 

In the course of dessert, a gentleman, who had 
been loudest in opprobriating the negroes, desired to 
be helped to grapes. The child pertinaciously insisted 
on giving him white grapes instead of the black, to 
which he had pointed. "One kind is as good as 
the other," said the gentlemen, " the only difference 
is in the colour of the skin." " And why then," 
cried the child, " do you persist in refusing the 
same concession to the poor negroes ?" 

The scholiasts have written much which has 
tended only to render more obscure the origin of the 
negro race ; some deriving it from Cain, and attri- 
buting its blackness to Divine wrath after th^ murder 
of Abel; others from Shem, the son of Noah, 
which is the opinion of Dr. Hanneman, as is seen 
in his Latin Treatise upon the coloiu* of " the Descen- 
dants of Shem." The learned German quotes 
nimierous proofs of the culpable conduct of Shem 
towards his father; adding that Shem had long 
practised the art of magic, and being imable to 
transport into the ark all his works of witchcraft 
and magic, had them engraved upon brass and stone 
so as to find them after the deluge. Hanaeman 
cites the authority of Luther, who formally asserts 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 149 

that the skin of Shem was blackened as a punish- 
ment for his irreverence ; and quotes a passage from 
the learned Ulricius, who in his treaty De Tacticis, 
established that the sons of Ham had white skins, 
those of Japhet a brownish complexion, while those 
of Shem were black as ebony. 

The anatomist, Meiners, adopting the theory of 
the facial angle, excluded the negroes from the 
human race, and placed them in the family of apes 
and ourang-outangs. 

According to the Abb^ Gr^goire, all black skinned 
races descend from the Etliiopian. He founds his 
opinion upon the works of Herodotus, Theophrastes, 
Pausanias, Athenoeus, Eusebius, Heliodorus, Josephus, 
Pliny, and Terence; all of whom, in speaking of 
negroes, call them Ethiopians. As regards their origin, 
all we know is, that the Ethiopians are from the 
interior of Africa, and that their ancestors had short 
and woolly hair, black skins, and thick lips. 

How are we to conciliate these pretensions with 
the assertions of Diodorus, the Sicilian, supported 
by those of the learned Heame ? Some affirm, on 
the other hand, that the Egyptians descend direct 
from the Ethiopians ; the pure Egyptian race existing 
only in the Copts, who have woolly hair, round 
heads, flattened noses, and protruding cheek-bones. 
Similar signs certainly characterize both negroes and 
Ethiopians. Egypt was the cradle of civilization, 



150 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

and if inhabited by the Ethiopian race, with the 
negroes originated sciences, arts, and institutions. 
In that case, the problem of equality of intelligence 
becomes painfully solved ; and if we now possess 
a vast superiority of intellect over the negroes, we 
owe it to their ancestors, who were our masters in 
almost every branch of polite knowledge. 

With regard to colour, Virgil has said, * nimium 
ne crede colori." Dr. Beddoes, moreover, completely 
overcame the difficulty ; for by frequently immersing 
the hand of a negro in a solution of muriatic acid, 
he rendered it as white as ivory. In these speculative 
times, we shoidd not be much surprised to see a 
company established for washing the black population 
white. This might furnish matter for reflection to 
Mr. Williams, of Vermont, who in his History of 
that State, requires four thousand years for effecting 
the transition from black to white, through the sole 
influence of climate. 

Meiners, as we have seen, classes the negroes in the 
monkey tribe. How are we to reconcile this sacrilegious 
classification with the dogmas of the chiffch, which 
canonize two blacks, viz. St. Elesbaan, patron of the 
Portuguese and Spaniards, and the Queen of Sheba, the 
wife of Solomon ? Another great writer affirms, that 
black was the original colour of the human race ; and 
that the white race is in a state of degeneration. Mon- 
sieur de Pauw shows the question of the negroes in 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 151 

another light, refusing them an aptitude for civiliza- 
tion equal to the whites; but attributing their colour to 
the scorching heat of the sun, which, by wasting the 
brain, diminishes the faculties and organs of intelligence 
that distinguish Europeans. Dr. Gall goes further, and 
pronounces the negroes to be wholly deficient in the 
organs of music and mathematics. 

We cannot, however, expect to find the organ of 
music prominent in the organization of man in a state 
of nature. As to the organ of mathematics, were the 
negroes completely deficient in this, Meiners would be 
correct in his assimilation; for the higher order of 
mathematics is not here implied, but the simplest acts 
of calculation. No operation of the mind, however, is 
possible without the aid of a certain kind of calculation. 
Moreover, experience tends to confute the system of 
Dr. Gall. It is well known that in Afiica, there are 
nations far advanced in civilization ; a false kind of 
civilization, perhaps, and tainted with barbarism. They 
have no opera, for instance, nor a jockey club, nor the 
excitement of breaking their necks at steeple-chases. 
But they have cities, tribunals, laws, judges, institu- 
tions, and armies ; they declare war and make peace ; 
discuss the interests of the State, raise taxes, and 
regulate the public expenditure. Denyan, who resided 
thirteen years in the kingdom of Juida, was astonished 
by their wonderful policy; affirming that their 
diplomatists were capable of competing with the most 
wary European cabinets. 



152 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

The Daccas, who occupy the fertile point of Cape 
Verd, are organized into a Republic, under directors, 
lieutenants, and a hierarchy, analagous to the diflferent 
States existing in Europe. Bomou is governed by a 
monarchy; but the throne is both hereditary and 
elective at the death of the reigning Prince. His 
successors being selected from among his children 
without respect to primogeniture. The most worthy 
is nominated to reign. The funeral discourse is a 
panegyric or a censure, according to the tenor of the 
reign of the deceased. 

This is stronger evidence of civilization than to 
possess a tenor equal to Rubini, or a dancer compara- 
ble with TagUoni. 

The cities of Africa are not mere encampments. 
The capital of the Foulans has seven thousand inha- 
bitants. Mungo Park mentions that they are fond 
of instruction, and read the books permitted by the 
Mahomedan religion with great assiduity. In his 
expedition to the interior of Africa, this celebrated 
traveller expresses his surprise at meeting with so much 
unexpected magnificence. The city of Sego had thirty 
thousand inhabitants ; her population being less than 
those of Jenna, Timbuctoo, and Haussa. 

Barrow extols the character and pleasing manners 
of the Boushouannas. Their capital, Litah, has from 
twelve to fifteen thousand souls; ruled by a 
patriarchal government. The chief executes the will 
of the people, emanating from a council composed of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 153 

elders. Is such a council characteristic of barbarism ? 
Or a proof that the moral organization of the negroes 
is inferior to that of the whites ? 

Judging from the narratives of travellers, the 
maritime populations are generally inferior to those 
of the interior. If this opinion be well founded, 
there is every reason to infer that the circumstance 
arises from the access of Europeans being less frequent 
with the interior than the littoral. Often have we to 
deplore the demoralization we have conveyed to dis- 
tant coimtries. Is it just, therefore, to speak of the 
brutal barbarity of the negroes, when all we see of it 
is partly our own work ? 

If we proceed from nations to individuals, a whole 
catalogue of eminent black men and mulattos presents 
itself. The name of Henry Diaz, demands a prominent 
place on the list. From a common slave, he became 
Colonel of a Portuguese regiment, which by his able 
tactics and daring courage often defeated experienced 
Generals. In an engagement, in which, overpowered 
by numbers, he perceived some troops on the point 
of giving way, he rushed among them exclaiming: 
" Are these the brave companions of Henry Diaz ?" 
On hearing which, his men returned to the charge, 
and drove the enemy from the field. In 1645, in 
the heat of battle, a ball penetrated his left hand 
which he was about to have amputated, when he ex- 
claimed : " Every finger of my right hand shall learn 
to grasp the sword !" 



154 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

The famous St. George was a mulatto. His skQl 
hi fendng won him an European reputation, and 
no one could surpass him in the art of equitation. 
Moreover, Dr. Gall would have been forced to admit 
his prodigious tal^t fen* music. Fifty years ago, the 
compositions of St. George were eminently the fashion 
in the Parisian drawing-rooms. 

The republican armies boasted among the bravest 
of the brave, General Alexander Dumas, who, though 
a mulatto, was sumamed by his companions in arms, 
the Horatius Codes of the Tyrol. Before Lille, 
accompanied only by four of his men, he attacked 
a post of fifty Austrians, of whom he killed six, 
and made sixteen prisoners. With the Army of the 
Alps, he scaled Mount St. Bernard, stormed a 
redoubt, and turned the guns against the enemy. 
He was the father of the French dramatist, Alexander 
Dumas, who has immolated as many victims in 
his dramas, as his father destroyed in the enemies 
of his country. 

Job-Ben-Solomon, son of the Mahomedan King 
of Banda, on the Gambia, was taken prisoner in 
1750, conducted, to America, and sold as a slave. He 
had a superior order of mind, understood Arabic, and 
was distinguished for his talents. He enjoyed the 
friendship of Sir Hans Sloane, for whom he translated 
several Arabic manuscripts; and was treated with 
distinction by the Court of London, till the African 
Company had him reconducted to his States. At 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 155 

the death of his father, he assumed the sceptre, 
and after being the slave of Europeans, became the 
idol of his subjects. The history of Job-Ben-Solomon 
presents a victorious argument against the prejudice 
concerning negroes, for in him there existed not only 
couteige but intellect. A son of the King of 
Nimbana, who was educated in England, died soon 
after his return to his native land ; but during his 
stay in England, he manifested great proofs of ability. 
He cultivated several sciences with success, learnt 
several languages, and read the Bible in the ori- 
ginal 

Ramsay, who passed twenty years of his life among 
the negroes, mentions their impressive eloquence when 
excited, as well as their talent for mimicry and 
acting, in which they were not inferior to some 
of the best performers then known in England. In 
Africa, they have varioTis national musical instru- 
ments, of which sixteen are stringed; without 
counting their fiimous balafon, resembling the once 
famed spinet. Vocal music is as familiar to them as 
instrumental ; and their composers have been known 
to produce melodies replete with grace. We may 
here quote Gossec, whose opinion on the subject 
of music is preferable to that of Dr. Gall, as being 
one of the greatest musical composers of his time ; 
and in his famous opera of the "Camp de Grand 
Pr^," he introduced a negro melody from St. 



156 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

Domingo, which met with immense success. The 
Abb^ Grdgoire also speaks of certain itinerant negro 
mmstrels, who sang, played, and narrated like 
the minstrels of old. 

The negro race, therefore, have produced both 
heroes and artists, as well as figured with distinction 
in the sciences. Derrham, once a slave at Philadelphia, 
was made over to a physician, who employed him in 
the compounding of his medicines. But soon ambi- 
tion laid hold of the soul of the slave, he acquired 
French, English, Spanish, and Latin; and perfected 
himself in the hygienic and therapeutic sciences with 
such success, that, in 1788, he was esteemed the 
most eminent practitioner in New Orleans, and 
consulted from aU parts of America. 

Another negro, named Amo, claims attention as 
distinguished in the annals of science. A native of 
Guinea, he was brought to Amsterdam in 1707, and 
presented to the Duke Augustus of Wolfenbiittel, 
who sent him to study at Halle and Wittenberg. 
After distinguishing himself at both those Universi- 
ties, he publicly sustained a thesis upon the rights 
of the negroes, " de Jure Manorum." Amo was 
versed in astronomy ; spoke Latin, Greek, Hebrew 
French, Dutch, and German, there were, indeed, few 
better linguists. Some years ago, a Swedish professor 
having addressed one of our academies in Latin, the 
different members, perplexed by their insufficient 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 157 

acquaintance with that tongue, sent in great haste for 
one of their absent members, the only one qualified to 
answer the learned foreigner. This was the late 
Andrieux ; but had the negro, Amo, been in the way, 
he might have supplied his place. Amo was not only a 
man of universal information, but had the art of 
imparting it to others. Differing from his white 
colleagues, he preferred instructing his scholars to the 
ambition of acquiring personal renown. His lectures, 
from the able manner in which he combined the 
advantages of the ancient and modem systems, 
attracted numerous auditors. He was invested 
with a diploma in 1744; the first instance of a 
negro arriving at that distinction. Amo left a 
Dissertation upon Sensation considered as distinct 
from the Soul, and present to the body. Fre- 
derick the Great, who then reigned in Prussia, 
conferred the dignity of Councillor of State upon 
Amo. But these honours, unprecedented for a man 
of his colour, did not dazzle him so as to render 
him insensible to the land of his birth. Kning for 
his native air, he resolved, after the death of his 
patron, the Duke of Brunswick, to return, after 
thirty years' absence, to his birth-place, Axim, on the 
Gold Coast ; nor was anything further heard of him 
in Europe after his departure for that obscure place. 
Buffon, who was the contemporary of Amo, did not 
distinguish himself by his definition of the negro 



.J 



158 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

race. " Negroes," said he, " are tall, fat, well-made, 
but devoid of mind and genius." The great naturalist 
looked no deeper than the epidermis, and was greatly 
mistaken in asserting negroes to be tall and fat ; as 
in general their stature scarcely equals oiu- own. 

Father Charleroy, goes farther than Buffon, by 
stating that, the negroes of Guinea have but limited 
capacities, some being quite imbecile, and few being 
able to count beyond three; that they possess no 
memory, the past being as tmknown to them as the 
fixture. " On the other hand," he observes, " they 
are docile, simple, humane, credulous, superstitious." 
This definition of Father Charleroy may apply to 
a certain number of negroes ; but it also applies to a 
certain number of whites. Buffon maintains that 
the negroes colonized at Sierra Leone had only the 
occupations of women, and a disgust for all usefiil 
employment. Their dwellings he states to be 
miserable hovels; declaring that they prefer sterile 
and wild spots to beautifiil valleys clothed with trees, 
and watered by the clearest streams. Their roads, he 
adds, are twice as long as necessary ; yet they always 
follow the beaten track, insensible to the waste of 
time, which they never calculate. M. Descoiutils, 
who resided at St. Domingo, and closely observed the 
negroes, declares them to be ignorant, superstitious, 
and barbaroiis; their music being detestable and 
unmeaning. But though such asseverations may be 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 159 

founded to a certain degree on fact — ^after having 
shown the difference that exists between the maritime 
and fluvial tribes of Africa, and those settled in 
the interior — ^we are inclined to inquire whether the 
negroes of America, more particularly those of St. 
Domingo, ought to be selected as the standard of 
the negro race ? Are not disabilities attributed to 
colour which are, in truth, caused by slavery ? Had 
not the Spartan Helots the same skin as Agis and 
Epaminondas? Yet what could be more marked 
than their distinction of nature ? Would it even be 
fair to judge the inhabitants of Paris and London 
by the swarms of footmen in those cities ? 

Nevertheless, we are bound to agree with the most 
experienced physiologists, that, independent of colour, 
independent of cerebral conformation, independent of 
facial angularity, the most perfect specimens of the 
human race are to be foimd in the temperate regions. 
The History of the World bears out the fact; and upon 
this point, the best intentions of philanthropy fall to 
the ground. Religion and humanity call aloud 
for the abolition of slavery ; while the massacres of 
St. Domingo prove the necessity of its being prudent 
and progressive. At some still remote period, 
posterity will probably abjure the prejudice of the 
white race against the blacks. But this great revolu- 
tion of popular feeling will not be effected without 



160 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 



long-established previous proof on the part of the 
negro population, that the blessings of freedom have 
brought forth all the fruits anticipated by the 
advocates of abolition. To decide upon their equality 
of nature, in their present unequal condition, would be 
rash and premature. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 161 



CHAPTER XXIL 

FASCINATION; OR, THE ART OF PLEASING. 

No individual of the human race, but at the bot- 
tom of his heart is ambitious to please ! But the 
charm is not more unequal in distribution than the 
means are various. So various, indeed, and so un- 
certain, that in our attempts to please we frequently 
produce the contraiy effect. 

This universal propensity has given rise to absurd 
prejudices and ridiculous efforts; and to a thousand 
arts, and trickeries, affording an amusing subject for 
consideration. 

The desire of pleasing tended greatly to enhance, 
in the earlier stages of society, the reputation and 
influence of sorcerers, fairies, and supernatural beings ; 
whose power was often invoked to increase the 
personal attractions of their votaries. The wild efforts 
of Medea to secure the affections of her faithless 
Jason are sufl[iciently known. Love potions and 
philtres were a favourite resource of the ancients, 

M 



162 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

never weary of consulting sorcerers and enchantresses 
concerning their aptitude to please. Virgil, Ovid, 
Tibullus, Propertius, aU allude to the love charms 
which could be procured at the hands of diflferent 
magicians. Ovid, who has so poetically described 
the delicate mysteries of the art of love, laughs, it is 
true, at these incentives. 

" Had magicians," sj^ys he, " the power of 
inflaming lovers' hearts, would Circe have allowed 
Ulysses to abandon her ?" 

Horace accuses Canidia of killing children for the 
purpose of composing love-potions; ignorant, appa- 
rently, that animal substances were inadmisi^ble in 
their composition. Vervain and rue, with a few 
other mystic plants, gathered by the light of the 
moon, formed their chief ingredients. According to 
some, a sovereign charm consists of enula campanay 
or St. John's wort, plucked on the eve of that 
Saint, before sunrise, ambergris, and other substances, 
of which the virtue would be forfeited unless super- 
scribed with the word " Scheva." 

One of the most ingenious authors of antiquity, 
Apuleius, has given, in his work of the Golden Ass, 
a recipe for a love-charm composed of different 
fishes ; the claws of crayfish, crabs, and oyster shells. 
He was accused of having tried its influence in 
obtaining the affections of his wife to induce her 
to make a will in his favour. This recipe is the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 163 

only one of the kind not limited to the vegetable 
kingdom. 

Pudentilla, a rich dowager, who had been a widow 
for fifteen years, chose for her future husband, ihe 
young, handsome, and clever Apuleius, who, according 
to the account of the " Golden Ass,'* pleaded his 
cause as follows before the tribunal. 

" I am accused," said he, " of sorcery, because 
Pudentilla espoused me after fifteen years of widow- 
hood. But would it not be better to inquire why 
she consented to remain a widow so long? In 
support of the accusation of magic, you say that I 
instructed fishermen to bring me fish for unlawful 
purposes. Ought I to have employed a lawyer, a 
blacksmith, or a bird-catcher? I am accused of 
collecting vermictdated oysters, striped cockle-shells, 
and sea crayfish. But when Aristotle, Democritus, 
Theophrastus, and other naturalists made collections 
of Natural History, did you infer that it was for the 
confection of love-charms ? A child accidentally fell 
down, in my presence, on my retiun home, and I 
am accused of sorcery! For the future, then, I 
presume I shall be bound to hold in leading strings 
all the children that approach me ; and to prevent all 
little girls fi*om stumbling, I must pick up the stones 
in the street, and do away with the threshold of my 
door, lest any one make a false step in entering my 
house. Pudentilla, it seems, informed her neighbours 

M 2 



164 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

that I was a magician. She might have seen fit to 
call me a Consul ; but would that have elevated me 
to the consular dignity ?" 

Having pleaded Ids own cause in this vein of 
pleasantry, the judges acquitted Apuleius, seeing 
clearly that so amiable and graceful a man needed 
no love-charm for the conquest of the old widow. 

In those times, sovereigns as well as subjects 
were in the habit of purchasing love-charms ! 
According to Suetonius^ Cesonia administered a 
potion to her husband, Caligula, which increased 
both his madness and his cruelty. The death of 
the poet Lucretius was caused by a similar potion 
administered by his mistress, Lucilia. Eusebius 
mentions a Governor of Egypt, who died from the 
same cause, and there are innumerable instances of 
these potent decoctions producing insanity, as well as 
fatal enfeeblement of body. Ovid furnishes the true 
recipe for love: "Ut ameris, amabilis esto!" "To 
be loved, be amiable !" But such a charm being out 
of the reach of many, it seems easier to purchase 
cosmetics at the perfumers, which are about as 
effective in the creation of the tender passion as the 
magic potions of darker ages. 

A pretension to youthful habits and appearance 
at an advanced period of life, is perhaps -one of 
the most eflfectual methods of becoming distasteful 
and ridiculous. 



J 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 165 

Still, however, a suitable attention to the care 
and variations of the toilet, proves a great enhance- 
ment to beauty in its civilized state ; nor can there 
be a more vulgar error than the dictum of the poet, 

proclaiming : 

" Beauty unadorned, adorned the most." 

In the female bosom, the love of dress is an 
instinctive passion. Look at two children of the 
same age, a girl and a boy ; the one will be seen to 
delight in feats of strength and agility ; the other, as 
if in evidence of the desire of pleasing instinctive in 
the opposite sex, is sure to prefer a doll, a ribbon, 
or a pretty frock, in place of the drum or gun chosen 
by the boy. Both have intuitively adopted their 
different vocations. Both are ambitious to conquer 
by means suitable to their several sexes. 

What prodigies of art have been effected in 
Prance in consequence of the love of dress generated 
in the fair sex by a desire to please; from the 
period when the fair Gauls attired themselves in 
a sheep-skin fastened at the throat with a thorn; 
but were not the less coquettish for this enforced 
simplicity. 

At that period, their notions of coquetry consisted 
in having fanciful designs tattooed upon their 
persons; and instead of pearls and diamonds, bv 
way of adornment, cockle-shells were suspended 
from their ears. Their sole cosmetic consisted 



\ 



166 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

in unguents, which we now abhor as characteristic 
of the Hottentots. 

Can the present inhabitants of Paris be really des- 
cended from these savages ? At that time all the 
elegance and refinement of dress, arising from the 
desire to please, were concentrated in Rome ; nor have 
modem times raised the fair Parisians to a similar 
state of refinement. JuvensJ relates that it was 
thought indecent by the Roman ladies to spit or 
make use of a handkerchief in public ; and at Athens, 
the fair sex never presumed to leave their chambers 
when suffering from a cold. What would they have 
thought of the disgusting habits of the Parisian belles, 
who contaminate their handkerchiefs by taking snuff, 
and yet ornament them with embroideries ! — ^But the 
ladies of the antique world scrupulously avoided all 
that could provoke disgust — ^an essential preliminary 
in the art of pleasing. 

In the early age of the Republic, the most refined 
cleanliness distinguished the habits of the fair Romans. 
Under the Caesars, and after the conquest of the 
East, a taste for luxury, perfumes, and futilities 
of all kinds was first indulged ; while the simiptuous 
prodigality of the table surpassed all precedent. The 
science of cosmetics then attained perfection; and 
there appeared no limit to their coquetry, 

Pliny states that the Roman ladies, in order to 
make their skin white, made use of a juice expressed 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 167 

from the seeds of the wild grape; — while minium, 
white lead and chalk, filled up their wrinkles, and 
effaced imseemly spots. 

"Tabula," said Martial, "is afraid of the rain; 
and Sabilla of the sun; the one alarmed for the 
solution of her complexion, the other lest the heat 
should evaporate the roses of her cheeks." 

Ovid has transmitted to us a ^recipe for a paste 
to secure whiteness of skin, consisting of barley 
floiu" and lentils, eggs, hartshorn, narcissus bulbs, 
gum, and honey. 

Poppsea invented a paste, which was moulded 
like a mask upon the face, to be worn in the house. 
This mask was called at Rome the husband's face, 
because it was only taken off for the suitor. When 
Poppsea travelled, she was followed by a troop of 
donkeys, whose milk she used for her toilet ; and 
in the baths of the Roman palaces, the most un- 
limited luxury prevailed. The ladies were served 
by numerous slaves, each having particular attribu- 
tions. One superintended the hair; another the 
eye-brows ; another the hands, which were dyed 
with pink; another, the face; while the rest were 
devoted to the care of the wardrobe and jewels. 

These customs, handed down both by historians 
and poets, had solely for their object the desire to 
please; among women, the most ungovernable of 
all desires, and exceeding even the love of command. 
To please, however, is a preliminary to authority. 



168 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

In modem times, the cosmetic art has become 
a branch of the sciences, and forms a considerable 
source of industry and revenue. The walls of our 
towns are covered with announcements of miraculous 
discoveries, pastes and capillary oils, odoriferous 
waters, — ^all and each being efficacious and infallible. 
Red hair may be transformed into beautiful black 
tresses; — ^baldness may be made to give place to 
flowing locks ; and all these oils, pastes, and 
masks, which periodically change their name, are 
in fact the same villanous cosmetics which never yet 
restored elasticity to a withered skin, converted black 
to white, or bestowed curls upon a bald pate. Art is 
great, but Time far greater ; nor are the ravages of 
years to be concealed. In divers of the^ preparaticms 
of lead, bismuth and tin, the sulphurated and phos- 
phoric properties produce the most injurious effects. 
In others, the calcareous and aluminous substances 
obstruct the pores of the skin, and by hardening it, 
annihilate its elasticity. Minium, coral, and v^table 
powders, are not less pernicious; their corroding 
action augmenting, instead of diminishing the ail- 
ments of the teeth and gums. 

These salutary observations were made long 
before our time ; and it has been as often observed 
that for the preservation of the complexion, innocuous 
substances should be employed such as miUc, honey, 
cucumber, or melon-juice, mallow-water, and above all, 
that best of cosmetics, fresh water, which is within 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 169 

the reach of aU^ and wants no alluring aid of Chinese 
engravings on gilded bottles to recommend its 
miraculous properties. 

The increased use of baths has fortunately ren- 
dered this cosmetic a matter of universal adoption ; 
and nothing is more likely to confer softness of 
skin. 

Anne of Austria, the mother of Louis XIV., had 
so fine a skin, that no linen could be found sufficiently 
delicate for her use, which caused Cardinal Mazarin 
to observe that in another world, her eternal punish- 
ment would consist in sleeping in coarse sheets. AH 
the cold cream in the world would not have eflfected 
a change in the susceptible epidermis of Anne of 
Austria; and we repeat that cosmetics are both 
useless and dangerous. 

Not even the consummate art of Jezebel availed 
to repair the irretrievable ravages of time. Young 
gu-ls of redundant health have been known to 
swallow acids to counteract corpulency; after suc- 
ceeding in which, they die prematurely of pul- 
monary affections. An equally fatal result of the 
desire to please is produced by over-lacing. Ladies 
desirous to conceal their obesity had far better 
rely upon a well-chosen dress than upon this 
injurious, expedient. On the other hand, a tight 
shoe only exhibits more prominently a foot of 
large dimensions. Nothing is more erroneous than 



170 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

the proverb, "that people must suffer in order to 
look well." To be graceful, the movements of the 
body should be unrestrained* 

We have already pointed out the distinction 
between the art of pleasing, and the desire of pleasing. 
The desire is conmion to all, the art limited to a 
few ; and they who charm most are those who please 
paturally and without effort. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 171 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE philosopher's STONE. 

How was the world ever brought to beKeve that 
students, in rags, possessed the power of producing 
gold, when the misery of their personal condition 
was so apparent? How could individuals, in the 
enjoyment of competence, ever be tempted to own 
themselves in the pursuit of chimerical opulence? 
How could an enlightened century give birth to so 
monstrous a delusion ? 

The alchemists, though not comprised among 
sorcerers, and requiring a separate notice, rivalled 
them in the pretence to magic; for their volumes 
abound in recipes for raising the dead, universal 
elixirs, the regeneration of old people, the trans- 
formation of the ugly into the beautiful, and even 
the creation of men and animals, without other aid 
than that of a few cinders and herbs ! 

Such miracles, however, were insignificant com- 
pared with the science of producing gold; which. 



172 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

according to some was known to Job. The philo- 
sopher's stone is said, by certain legends, to have 
been the origin of his fortune; and his poverty 
to have been occasioned by its loss. These 
alchemists do not explain how he came to forfeit 
the scientific powers which had originally produced 
the stone ; such details being beneath the notice 
of the grand science. 

The philosopher's stone was, on the contrary, a 
creation of the fourteenth century, and much 
accredited among the scientific men of that day. 
Raymond Lully, Nicholas Flamel, Amaud de Ville- 
neuve, Paracelsus, and several others, were initiated 
into the secret. Nicholas Flamel was a celebrated 
alchemist, and having acquired an immense fortune, 
it was attributed to the philosopher's stone, which 
of course stimulated the cupidity of the proselytes of 

• 

alchemy. Eager was their pursuit of a study which 
was to endow them with boundless wealth ; and these 
lunatics found coadjutors in persons of weak and 
credulous mind, while wiser men diverted them- 
selves by sustaining their hopes, and affecting con- 
viction of their success. Such was Van Helmont, 
who published his belief in the existence of the 
philosopher's stone, protesting that he had seen it, 
and tasted it; that with a grain, he had produced 
several marks of pure gold. 

The ardour with which conjectural sciences are 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 173 

adopted, proves a serious injury to positive science. 
Many learned men asserted the possibility of the 
transmutation of metals ; among others, the famous 
Pica of Mirandola. Alchemists, however, were not 
unanimous concerning the principles of the art. 
Some placed its origin in Heaven, and looked 
upon the rays of the sun as its primitive source ; 
the quintessence of which was called, in their 
gibberish, the powder of projection. Others main- 
tained that its elements existed throughout every 
department of nature, constituting the active prin- 
ciple of the universe. Some ascribed the principle to 
the metals themselves. Mercury presented itself to 
them as the agent for producing silver, according 
to the properties we have already described with 
reference to miraculous showers. According to them, 
mercury had only to be condensed, its mobility 
fixed, and its different parts coagulated, to create 
silver. But by far the greater number indulged 
in still wider speculations. Most of those who 
attempted the pursuit were brought to want and 
wretchedness ; and one of them , observed, in his 
last moments, that he could not imagine a bit- 
terer curse to bequeath than the love of alchemy ! 

All, however, were not martyrs to the art. Many 
of its advocates perambulated the world, finding 
dupes in Princes^ Kings and Emperors, who paid 



174 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

dearly for their imaginary disooveries. These moun- 
tebanks were the only real possessors of the 
philosopher's stone. After the treaty of Westphalia, 
in 1648, the Emperor Ferdinand was convinced 
that he had converted half a pound of mercury into 
gold by means of a philosophical tincture ; and in 
commemoration of the event, had a medal struck, 
bearing the effigy of a youth with a face like a s\m, 
shooting forth rays. On the reverse was inscribed, 
" Glory to God for deigning to impart to his humble 
creatures a portion of his infinite power/* 

The mountebank to whom this transmutation was 
attributed, by name Richthausen, was created a 
Baron; and repeated his experiments before the 
Elector of Mayence and many other Sovereigns. 
His name was long celebrated in Germany ; but his 
end is unknown. It is well known that Cardinal de 
Richelieu witnessed several experiments in pursuit 
of the philosopher's stone, generously rewarding the 
operator. This may have been an expedient of 
his Eminence in order to secure the services of 
these adroit individuals; who, admitted into the 
bosom of illustrious families, became a source of 
useful information. Voltaire relates that he saw 
one, Damusi, Marquis of Conventiglio, handsomely 
remunerated by certain rich noblemen, after producing, 
in their presence, two or three crowns of gold. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 175 

No one has written more to the purpose on the 
sulgect of alchemists, than Fontenelle. "Nothing 
but the blindness induced by avidity," says he, 
" could induce the belief that a man, possessing the 
power of making gold, must receive gold from 
another, before he can exhibit his art. How can 
such a person stand in need of money? Never- 
theless, these moimtebanks, by their fanatical conduct, 
mysterious language, and exorbitant promises, far 
from rendering themselves objects of suspicion, 
acquire the utmost influence. Without deciding 
upofi the impractibility of making gold, experience 
teaches us that the extreme difliculty of the operation 
must render it unavailable in practice, if not in theory. 
But supposing that by the means of a sulphur of 
gold, completely separated from other principles, 
the point were gained by applying it to silver, so 
as to produce a mass of gold of the same weight 
and volume, what would be the result beyond a 
curious experiment effected at an enormous cost ?" 

In this appreciation of alchemy, Fontenelle ex- 
presses himself with the scrupulousness worthy the 
philosopher who said that he would not have opened 
his hand had it been full of truth. In this instance 
he opens it partially, admitting an experimental 
possibility which he knew did not exist. 

Not only Kings and Emperors, but even the popu- 
lace, delighting in the marvellous, believed in the 
existence of the philosopher's stone ; choosing to 



176 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

attribute several sudden accumulations of wealth to 
this mysterious source. Raymond Lull^ had become 
rich by farming the duty imposed by Edward III. 
upon the exportation of wool from England to 
Flanders. Amaud de ViUeneuve, an eminent physi- 
cian and chemist, effected cures by specifics only 
known to himself, which were highly requited. 
Nicholas Flamel enriched himself by seizing the 
ledgers of the Jews when expelled from France; 
their creditors preferring a settlement with him, to 
paying their liabilities into the exchequer ; in return 
for which, he effaced their names from the registers. 

These mountebanks are now known to have 
made use of a hollow cane, the extremity being 
plugged with wax, by introducing which into the 
crucible, on pretext of stirring up the different 
matters, as the wax melted the gold fell out, and 
the miracle appeared to be accomplished. 

Others had their crucibles lined with a substance 
which yielded to the action of the fire, when the gold 
concealed behind it appeared. These clumsy tricks 
of legerdemain succeeded for several centuries; but 
credulity flits round error, as the moth is attracted 
by the flame of the taper, and is at length anni- 
hilated. 

In the beginning of the last century, a well- 
known Princess was the victim of an absurd fraud. 
Being famed for her humanity, a wounded soldier 
knocked at the door of her palace, and solicited 



A WORLD OF WONDERS, 177 

hospitality. Having been nobly received, on re- 
covering jfrom his wounds, he desired to oflFer 
some acknowledgment of gratitude previous to his 
departure. This man pretended to be possessed of 
* three reeds, which, being placed in a crucible, 
converted mercury into gold. These reeds he pre- 
tended to have discovered in a ruined Abbey in 
Wiuxbourg; a fact which he disinterestedly com- 
municated to the Princess; who, in return, loaded 
him with marks of mimificence. When, however, 
her Highness proceeded to apprize the Bishop of 
Wurzbourg of the treasure concealed in his diocese, 
no such Abbey as the one described by the crafty 
soldier was foimd to be in existence. This kind 
of philosophers' stone is not a new invention, and 
there is little chance of the secret being lost. 

There are still many persons engaged in the 
decomposition and transmutation of metals; — ^viz: 
the coiners of base money. Even the Academy of 
Sciences of. Paris has still one member devoted to 
the miracles of the crucible — ^Baron Cagnard de la 
Tour; who has made many wonderful experiments 
on the nature and reproduction of diamonds. 



N 



178 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



GIANTS AND DWARFS. 



" Have dwarfs and giants ever really existed ?" 

''Only so long as no traveller penetrated the 
countries they were supposed to inhabit/' would 
be the reasonable reply. For since the globe has 
been explored in all directions, and tourists are 
compelled to be more measured in their narratives, 
travellers' wonders are greatly diminished. 

A belief in the existence of nations of giants and 
dwarfs was, however, long entertained; one of the 
many errors bequeathed to us by antiquity, and 
adopted by modem credulity. 

The ancients had their Titans and Cyclops; of 
whom Polyphemus, the most towering, was three 
hundred feet high ; while we modems, more mode- 
rate, allow only ten feet to the Patagonian. From 
the period the Magellan regions became better 
known, their proportions were still further reduced; 
and we now allow only an average of seven feet. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 179 

Credulity, distance, and the love of the marvellous, 
tend greatly to the exaggeration of such allotments. 

The Bible, like mythology, has its giants ; but 
in most cases, they are exceptional ; and it is undenia- 
ble that nature often digresses, and produces indivi- 
duals differing in stature from the ordinary standard 
of mankind. 

Most people have heard of B^^, the famous dwarf 
of the King of Poland, who came to Paris in the 
€arly part of the Consulate ; and of Friand, the giant, 
whose height exceeded seven feet two inches. But 
these two were exceptions, not the types of a race. 
Exciting the Greenlanderd, Laplanders, and 
Samoyedes, there is little variation of stature among 
the different populations of the globe, certainly not 
more than a tenth. As regards the inhabitants of 
the arctic regions, we must bear in mind that their 
stunted proportions are in harmony with the rigid, 
and unkindly nature of their climates ; in proof of 
which may be cited the similarity of cUmate between 
Lapland and certain vallies of the frozen regions of 
Switzerland. A similar influence is manifest in the 
inhabitants of the two localities; the peasants of 
the Valais, afiiicted with the goitre, having more 
analogy with the Laplanders than with the fine 
population of Switzerland. 

There are few phenomenal races, though many 

N 2 



180 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

individuals ; just as the monstrous fruits grown for 
horticultural prizes cannot be regarded as fair 
samples of a species. It would be as rational to cite, 
by way of example, the fabulous creations of Rabelais 
and Swift, the giant Gargantua, and the nation of 
Lilliputians. 

Polyphemus and his Cyclops are real, as they 
exist in the pages of Homer and Virgil ; but 
ideal the moment Flasellus asserts that the remains 
of Polyphemus were found in Sicily, near Mount 
Eripana, of which he gives the following account. 

"The giant was seated with his left hand resting 
on the mast of a ship terminated like a dub, and 
carrying fifteen hundred weight of lead. It crumbled 
into dust upon being touched, except part of his 
skull ; which would have contained several bushels of 
com. Three teeth of which the least weighed one 
hundred ounces, and a thigh bone, one hundred and 
twenty feet long, were still perfect." Between Homer, 
and Virgil, and Thomas Flasellus there is all the 
difference of ingenious fiction and the grossest 
imposture produceable in prose. 

In former days, the head of Adam was believed to 
have out-topped the atmosphere, and that he touched 
the Arctic Pole with one hand, and the Antarctic with 
the other ; one of the hyperbolical exaggerations of 
the rabbinical Scriptures. After Adam, the rabbins 
rank Og, the King of Basan, to whom Holy Writ 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 181 

assigns thirteen or fourteen feet, while the rabbinical 
writings declare that the stature of Og was such that 
the waters of the deluge only came up to his knee. 
In the war against the Israelites, he hurled a moun- 
tain against the enemy ; but as he held it above his 
head, God decreed that the ants should excavate it, 
so that it fell about his neck like a collar. Moses, 
who was six ells high, profiting by the circumstance, 
grasped a formidable axe, and making a spring of 
his own height, could only strike the giant on the 
instep. The King, however, fell, and encumbered by 
the mountain, was put to death. 

Polyphemus, and all other giants might have 
danced upon the palm of King Og ; and the thigh of 
the Cyclops would scarcely have furnished him a 
toothpick. The Jewish rabbins affirm that the thigh 
bone of Og, the King of Basan, was about twelve 
leagues long. They do not, however, give the precise 
measure. 

Pomponius Mela, the most incredible of the authors 
of antiquity, states that certain of the Indian tribes 
were of such exceeding stature, that they mounted 
their elephants as we do our horses. Father Rhetel, 
a Capuchin friar, saw at Thessalonica the bones of 
a giant ninety-six feet long ; the skull of which could 
contain twenty-four bushels of com. Herodotus 
states that the shoe of Perseus measured three feet. 
The wise Plutarch, himself adopted the history 



182 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

of the giant Antaeus, related by that illustrious liar 
Gabirius. According to some historians, King 
Tentradus was twenty-five feet high; Goliath was 
nine feet four inches; the Emperor Maximin was 
more than eight ; and the Elector of Brandenbourg, 
Joachim^ had at his Court a man named Michael, 
who was about eight feet high. The height of 
Goliath, Maximin and Michael were mere instances 
of the caprices of nature. 

The early legends of stupendous giants arose 
firom the fact, that the fossil remains of antedi- 
luvial animals were originally ascribed to the human 
race ; whereas^ geologists have never found, either in 
calcareous or granitical fcNrmations, any bones of the 
human spedes which could have preceded the deluge. 

Having dismissed the giants, let us consider the 
dwarfs, concerning whom our conclusions are the 
same : — ^that they are exceptions to the general rule. 
Nay, the impossibility of establishing a race has been 
proved by a German Princess, who having married 
and settled several ^ couples of dwarfs, failed in 
securing a diminutive progeny. 

The existence of pygmies is the sole question 
concerning the dwarfish species requiring att^ottion ; 
but though so long credited by the ancients, it is 
now looked upon as fabulous. Aristotle, the evan- 
gelist of science, affirms that pygmies were not 
fabulous ; and placed them near the source of the 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 183 

Nile, in a country created purposely for them, in 
which the nature of every thing was proportionate. 
Some authors have pronounced the pygmies to have 
been twenty-eight inches high; but Juvenal only 
allows them a foot. These ideal dwarfs must have 
been about the size of the young American, popu- 
larly known under the name of General Tom 
Thumb. 

The pygmies are said to have been courageous and 
enterprising ; dexterous with the bow, and, according 
to Pliny, hewed down with an axe the com, which 
to theiii was in about the proportions of the oaks of 
Dodona. 

The most valorous exploit attempted hy the 
pygmies was the siege of Hercules. Pliny rdates, 
that one day the son of Alcmena having fidlen 
asleep in the country of the pygmies, their King 
assembling his troops, led a division against his 
right arm, surrounded his left, then at the head 
of his troops charged the head, leaving the remainder 
of the army to capture the feet. On awaking, 
Hercules spread out his doak, and made the whole 
army of pygmies prisoners. This is a pretty fable, 
and may have originated the Lilliputians of the Dean 
of St. Patrick's. But we have no hesitation in 
affirming, that though the words giants and pygmies 
may serve as terms of comparison, they have no 
prototypes ampng the nations of the earth. 



184 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



ASTROLOGY. 



Among the most popular delu&dons of mankind, 
in earlier ages, were the deductions drawn from the 
stars, under the name of astrology; a science so long 
sustained by men of superior intellect, as to justify 
the credulity of the ignorant. Hippocrates consulted 
the moon before he administered medidne to his 
patients. Horace, Virgil, Richelieu, Mazarin, be^ 
lieved in judicial astrology. Some attributed the 
honour of this discovery to Abraham, others to 
Zoroaster ; while the Greeks claim it for one of the 
seven Sages of Greeks, Chilo of Lacedemonia, who 
professed to have discovered in the heavens the germ 
and principle of our various temperaments. 

The Romans adopted these astrological super- 
stitions ; and since that period, both the study of the 
moon and stars, with the view to prognostication, 
has proved a profitable pursuit. Petronius and the 
poet Manilius assured their contemporaries that a 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 185 

child bom under Aquarius, could not fail to prefer 
fountains and cascades. But they forgot that Aqua- 
rius was known long before the invention of foun- 
tains. Astrology was then in its infancy, but like a 
youth improved by his travels, it acquired strength 
and consistency among the Arabs. 

Long before the Arabs, however, the great Hermes 
had asserted : '^ As men have seven apertures in the 
head, and there exist seven planets, it must be 
inferred that every planet presides over one of these 
apertures in the human head.'' The following lis the 
manner in which Hermes disposed of them. He 
made Jupiter and Saturn preside over the ears ; Mars 
and Venus the nostrils ; the Sun and Moon repre- 
sented the eyes ; and Mercury had the care of the 
mouth. New planets, however, have since been 
discovered; and in all conscience, the disciples of 
Hermes ought to have made proportionate holes in 
the head in support of his doctrines. 

Proceeding from the physical to the moral world, 
they established seven presidencies; Venus over 
love, Mercury over eloquence, Saturn over grief, the 
Sun over glory, and the Moon over domestic 
economy. 

After this ingenious arrangement, they assigned 
to every colour its peculiar star. Blue belonged to 
Jupiter, yellow to the Sun, green to Venus, red to 
Mars, probably frt)m his sanguinary influence, white to 



186 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

the Moon, Uack to Saturn, while Mercury presided 
over the differmt shadings of all the colours. After 
the theory ensued the application, which was nearly 
as follows : 

*^ Flaoe a child in the centre of a circle, upon 
the drcumfarenoe of which the stars are disposed 
as at the moment of his conception, or birth. 
Their influences concentrate upon him, and confer 
on him a fixed and unalterable destiny. He wiU be 
virtuous or vicious, prosperous^ or imfortunate in this 
world, according to the configuration of the planets.'' 

According to the moral character of the stars, ihe 
Sun is benevolent and auspicious; Saturn, dull, 
morose, and cold ; the Moon moist and melancholy ; 
Jupiter, temperate, and his influences kindly ; Mars, 
dry and fervent ; Venus prolific and affable ; Mercury^ 
inconstant and variaUe. 

Astrologers assigned twelve houses to the zodiac, 
appropriated to the different planets. The first was 
consecrated to life and the body; firom whence 
emanates the white, black, and copper coloured races, 
giants, dwarfs, albinos, idiots, and men of genius. The 
second house is devoted to the interests of society in 
general ; and in the third house, &mily affairs between 
relatives of different degrees, excepting testamentary 
dispositions, to which they devoted a fourth house. 
To pass from grave to gay, enter the fifth house, 
where all is mirth, pleasure, and infantine pastimes. 



A WORLD OF WONDEttS. 187 

Laddes and sempstresses occupy the sixth house, but 
they have but little repose if the wall between it and 
the next house be not tolerably thid^ ; being inherited 
by beautiful women, envy, hatred, and malice. The 
e^hth house of the zodiac is the cemetery ; the ninth, 
the h^-quarters of voyages, missions, and proces- 
sions ; whilst the tenth is the resort of the highest 
society, the nobility and dignitaries of state. The 
eleventh house is destined for the prosperous, 
who pass their lives in the delights of wit and frirad- 
ship. The twelfth differs firom the precedii^, being 
devoted to the groans of the wretdied in their dun- 
geons, and the haunt of treason and shame. In 
building these zodiacal houses, the representative form 
of certain Governments had not been anticipated, or a 
better balance of power might have been effected. 

Such were the chimeras of antiquity, as handed 
down to modem times. Flutarch relied so much on 
the ^cacy of the stars, that he prevented the 
Lacedemonians from going into battle before the fuU 
moon ; and Caesar and Pompey frequently consulted 
the astrologers. The Emperor Augustus, bom under 
the sign Capricorn, had a medal stmck in honour 
of his natal star. Caracalla had the horoscope 
drawn of all those he employed; while his policy, 
favour, and misgivings were uniformly decided by the 
stars. When the horoscope of any influential person 
augured ill, Caracalla had him put to death ; — a fine 
triumph for astrology! 



188 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Phrenology has now usurped the throne of astro- 
logy: and were sovereigns or judges to form their 
judgments after the theory of Dr, Gall, they would 
save themselves a world of trouble. 

The reign of Catherine de Medicis was the triumph 
of astrology in France. Not a high-bom dame but 
had her Baron^ a name assigned to the family astro- 
loger, who was as much a matter of course as, in other 
times, a family confessor. 

The astrological rage subsided during the reign of 
Louis XrV ; but disappeared only under the Regency. 
Voltaire, writes in 1757, when he was sixty, that 
in his youth, the last adepts of astrology,. Count 
Boulainvilliers and the Italian Calonna, foretold his 
end at thirty years of age. Voltaire remarks, "I have 
done them by thirty years !" — to which the sequel 
added upwards of twenty more. 

When the Europeans first penetrated the vast 
regions of Asia, astrology was found to be much m 
vogue in Persia and China. In the latter country, 
the Emperor, on his accession, has his horoscope 
drawn. The Japanese consult the stars previous to 
undertaking any enterprise. If they succeed, they 
thank their stars ; if they fail, they resign themselves to 
their irresistible influence. 

Astrology had its hero, a Cato or Vatel, in the 
astrologer Cardan ; who, banning predicted his death 
to the day and the hour, and failed in his calculations, 
killed himself for the credit of science ! A more 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 189 

Judicious prediction was that of the astrologer to Louis 
XL ; his master, who having inquired of him the hour 
of his own death : " Two after that of your Majesty !" 
replied he ; and the oracle became a safeguard over his 

« 

days. 

Human pride often stimulates the influence of 
superstition. Napoleon once pointed out his star to 
Cardinal Fesch, who could not make it out. " It is 
lost upon you," said the Emperor, " but I see it 
plainly Plough !" Napoleon affected reliance upon 
an influence which was known to be auspicious to 
his fortunes. Had the Cardinal, in return, pretended 
to similar distinction, he would probably have 
answered as Jean Jacques Rousseau did to a shop- 
keeper, who complained of his stars. « How, Sir, 
do such people as you pretend to have stars ?'* Were 
astrologers in general, like Cardan, content to 
exercise their art upon themselves, we should not 
oppose their proceedings. But their predictions have 
been known to produce a panic throughout an entire 
population. For instance, a German mathematician, 
named Stoffler, whose audacity was only equalled by 
th© credulity of his proselytes, predicted, towards the 
end of the fift;eenth century, another Deluge for the 
month of February, 1 5 24. " How was it possible," he 
argued, ^^ to escape from the calamity, when at that 
particular period Mars and Pisces, Saturn and Jupiter 
were to be in conjunction." Upon the eve of this 



190 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

awful event, in various countries of Europe, carpenters 
ooidd scarody be found in sufficient numbers to build 
the arks in preparation. 

Not a drop of rain, howevw, fell during the dreaded 
month of February, and Stoffler became an object 
of gen^^ ridicule. Far, however, from feeling him- 
self defeated or acknowledging his error, he professed 
to have made a mistake in the date ; and predicted 
the end of the worid for 1588. 

These predictions, alarming only to women and 
children, have been fi^uently renewed by oth^s. 
About the middle of the same century, the Jews were 
one day seen waiting at their windows, expecting the 
arrival of their Messiah ; an Israelite, named Avenar, 
having announced his coming. Cardan predicted a 
tag !nd gbria^ ™gn to !*™rf VI Ki-g of 
England; who nevertheless died in his sixteenth 
year ! 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 191 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE MOON AND LUNAR INFLUENCE. 

From the stars in general to the moon in parti* 
cular, there is but a step ; nor will we separate the 
midnight luminary from the company in which we 
usually find her. Lovers and poets have from time 
immemorial foimd solace in her beams; whSe the 
early philosophers pretended that she swallowed stones 
in the manner of the mountebanks, in order to cast 
them down upon us in the form of aeroUtes. This 
conclusion is as absurd as a thousand others, of 
which the moon has been the object. The ingenuous- 
ness of the old lady, who on hearing continually (^ 
new moons, inquired anxiously what became of the 
old ones, is scarcely more surprising than the complex 
mass of commentaries and hypotheses which regard 
the influence of the orb of night. 

In former centuries, it was the custom to attribute 
the decay of public monuments to the influence of 
the moon upon the surface of granite and stone. 



192 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Naturalists, however, having watched the work of 
animalculae among oysters, madrepores and corals, 
attributed this to the true cause. In the year 1666, 
a physician of Caen remarked upon a stone wall of 
southern aspect forming part of the Abbey of the 
Benedictines, a number of cavities, into the deep 
sinuosities of which the hand could be inserted. 
Instead of attributing this to the moon, he ascertained 
that they were worked by insects whom he found con- 
cealed in the cavities. Experiment opens the safest 
road to truth; while absurd theories transmitted from 
generation to generation, obstruct the steps of a temple 
already sufficiently difficult of ascent. 

Thomas Moult, the author of an almanack 
superior to the general run of those poptdar publi- 
cations, devoted himself to conjectures on the 
variations of the weather as influenced by the moon ; 
and consulted the observations previously made by 
the Abb^ Toaldo, who had noted down the effect of 
eleven himdred and six moons upon the weather. 
He found that nine hundred and fifty were accom- 
panied by changes of weather ; while the other one 
hundred and fi% six, produced no effect. The 
proportion being as one to six, the chances are that 
a new moon will produce a change of weather ; the 
influence being susceptible of increase from various 
circumstances, in the proportion of thirty-three to 
one, when the new moon is at its perigseum. 



I 



I 

I 

1 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 193 

Physicians formerly believed the phases of the moon 
to influence certain diseases. Hippocrates and Galen 
assigned them as the cause of periodical returns of 
epilepsy ; while people of deranged intellect are vulgarly 
styled lunatics. Bertholon observed the paroxysms 
of a maniac during one year, and declared them to 
be aggravated by the full moon. It has been asserted 
that among maritime populations, a greater number 
of deaths occurred at the ebb than at the flow of the 
tide. At Brest, Rochefort and St. Malo, a register 
was kept for thirty months of the number of deaths, 
and the hours at whidi they took place ; when the 
number was found to be less at the hours supposed 
most fatal. The doctrine of Aristotle, which had still 
many adherents, was overthrown by experience. 

Dr. Mead, an English physician, wrote a treatise 
on the influence of the moon upon the human 
constitution, which has also fallen into oblivion. 



o 



194 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



APPARITIONS. 



The following anecdote is contained in one of the 
letters of Pliny, the younger, which we select from 
many which figure in the annals of antiquity as a 
type reproduced in various forms, with a change of 
scenery, by an infinite number of chroniclers. 

** There was at Athens a spacious and convenient 
house, which was abandoned because in the dead of 
night its inhabitants were invariably disturbed by a 
dash of iron, and rattling of chains, which appeared 
to approach gradually, and afterwards grow fainter 
and fainter. A spectre at length appeared, in the 
shape of an old man with a venerable beard, and his 
hair standing on end, with chains on his feet and 
hands, which he shook fiiriously ; so that those who 
had courage to take shelter in the house passed 
fearful and sleepless nights. This privation of rest 
produced illness, which increasing by constant panic, 
death often ensued. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 195 

" The phflosopher Athenodorus having arrived at 
Athens, and heard the story of the deserted house, 
hired it, and took up his residence. 

" When evening set in, he had his bed put up in the 
front apartment ; and his tablets, lights, and writing 
implements placed on the table; after which, his 
attendants retired to the rear of the house. Lest his 
imagination should conjure up phantoms^ he concen- 
trated his whole attention in writing. 

"At the beginning of the night, a deep silence 
prevailed. But at a later hour, he heard the ring of 
chains, but continued to write on disbelieving the 
evidence of his ears. 

" The noise becoming louder, seemed to approach 
his chamber door ; and on looking up, he beheld the 
spectre we have described ; which seemed to beckon 
him with its finger. Athenodorus made sign to his 
visitor to wait, and continued his writing. The 
spectre shook its chains anew in the ears of the 
philosopher ; who, perceiving it to be still beckoning, 
rose, took up the light, and followed it. The phantom 
walked as if sinking under the weight of its chains ; 
and on reaching the court-yard vanished, leaving 
Athenodorus picking up herbs and leaves to mark 
the place of its disappearance. 

" On the following day, he sought the magistrates 
of the city, and begged to have the scene of the 
adventure examined. On due investigation, a human 

o 2 



196 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

skeleton, entangled in chains, was found interred on 
the ominous spot. The bones were carefully collected, 
and pubUdy buried; and after receiving the sacred 
rites of the dead, the spectre never again troubled the 
repose of the house." 

Pliny does not relate this story as deserving of 
credence; but oflFered it to his contemporaries as an 
ingenious lesson upon the influence of the imagi* 
nation, serving to inculcate the respect due from the 
living towards the dead. Honours have been oflfered 
to the mortal remains of illustrious men in all times 
and countries; and a reverence towards the grave 
may be accepted as an indication of civilization. 

Plato affirmed that he saw the souls of the departed 
flitting about like shadows ; a prejudice we forgive the 
more readily in the man who first revealed the 
existence of the soul, of which, in the name of 
Socrates, he consecrated the immortality. 

Pausanias relates that whole armies reappeared 
after death with their arms and baggage. 

" Four hundred years after the battle of Marathon," 
says he, " the neighing of horses and cries of 
soldiers were heard upon the scene of action." 

The object of Pausanias was to hold up to the 
Athenians the example of their illustrious ancestors 
by immortalizing the heroic combatants of that 
memorable battle. But he no more heard the 
neighing of horses on the spot, than Napoleon 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 197 

beheld forty centuries surveying his army from the 
apex of the Pyramids, as figurately described in his 
sublime address to his troops. 

Unmindful of the moral sense of things, and 
prone to judge the recitals of antiquity according to 
the standard of oiu* own ideas, regardless of the 
changes of time, in our eflfbrts to rectify the errors 
of our predecessors, , we fall into new ones. Due 
allowance ought to be made for time and place in 
perusing such recitals as the following : 

" St. Spiridion, Bishop of Trimitonte, in Egypt, 
had a daughter, named Irene, who died a virgin. 
After her decease, an individual presented himself 
and claimed a deposit which had been in her custody, 
unknown to her father, which was vainly sought for 
by St. Spiridion. Proceeding, however, to his 
daughter's tomb, he called aloud her name, and 
demanded what she had done with the object 
confided to her? ^You will find it buried in such 
a spot!' replied a voice from the tomb; and pro- 
ceeding to the place pointed out, the treasure was 
found." 

St. Martin of Tours, disgusted by the reverence 
paid in his neighbourhood to a pretended Saint, 
proceeded to his tomb, and enjoined him to arise. 
The dead man issued from his grave, confessed that 
he was a robber justly punished for his crimes, and 
condemned to eternal punishment. 



198 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

To appreciate these two miracles, we must revert 
to the times of those two saints, that is, to the reign 
of superstition; in which the priesthood officiated 
with magisterial power, keeping in check, by their 
moral influence, the licentiousness of manners, and 
the perpetration of crime. Of these Bishops, the 
one saw fit to defend the reputation of his daughter, 
and inculcate the sacred nature of a trust ; while the 
other chose to exhibit the untenability of an assumed 
reputation. In both instances, this was probably 
accomplished by means to which the priesthoods of 
all countries have not disdained to resort; finding 
them far more effectual with an unenlightened popu- 
lace than abstract argument. 

A somewhat similar instance is related by Marti- 
nus Polonius, Platinus, and Pierre Damien, of Pope 
Benedict IX. This Pontiff, they assure us, not only 
rose again from the grave ; but in the form of a wild 
beast, having the head of an ass, the body of a bear, 
and the tail of a cat. As he wandered in the forest, 
a holy hermit met and conversed with him. 

The truth is that the three authors of this story 
were Guelphs, and chose to convert the Ghibeline 
Pontiff into a monster, by a pretended apparition. 
So is it ever with party-writers, who do not disdain 
to have recourse to the most absurd and disgracefid 
means in order to discredit their opponents. 

As regards the \idgar family of ghosts, there can 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 199 

be little doubt that such persons as really believe 
themselves to have been exposed to spectral visitation, 
were aiSected either by some optical delusion, similar 
to that of the "Fata Morgana" on the coast of 
Sicily, or the " mirage" of the desart ; in most cases, 
produced by the fatigue of over-study, and infirmity 
of digestion. Such effects are, also, easily produced 
by the interposition of malicious or jocose persons, 
in the way of phantasmagoria. 
. A celebrated instance of this kind is on record. 
The wife of the Provost of Orleans dying in that 
city, limited by her will to the sum of six 
golden crowns the expenses of her funeral; which 
was to take place at the Convent of the Cordeliers. 
Her heirs conformed strictly to her injunctions; 
thereby greatly incensing the friars, who determined 
to be revenged. 

The Superior of the Convent caused a yoimg monk 
to be secreted in the vaults, and instructed him to cry 
aloud, and utter strange shrieks during the perform- 
ance of matins, and if invoked, to give no other answer 
than by knocking thrice. The youth faithfully 
executed his charge; and, at the moment agreed 
upon, made a hideous noise'; so that the affrighted 
monks suspended the sacred office. The officiating 
priest adjured the disturbed spirit to tell them what 
was the matter ; when three solemn knocks formed 
the only answer, which was repeated three days 
consecutivelv. 



200 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

The phenomenon was soon bruited abroad by the 
monks ; and on the days of holy office, the noise was 
louder than usual ; till the faithful deserted the 
church in consternation. At length, they had recourse 
to exorcism ; and when the exerciser conjured the 
phantom, demanding to know whose was the soul in 
torment, and naming in succession the various 
persons buried in the chiurch, no answer was 
returned till they came to the name of the offending 
lady, when three loud knocks were distinctly audible. 
The spirit was next interrogated whether she were 
not condemned to eternal punishment for having 
secretly embraced the doctrines of Luther ; and three 
knocks instantly confirmed the charge. She was next 
asked whether it would not assuage her torments 
if her body were carried out of the Catholic Church 
to be more appropriately interred ; and three knocks 
again replied in the affirmative. The Chapter being 
convoked, decided upon giving up the lady to her 
husband, as being convicted of Lutheranism. But 
the Provost, instead of giving credence to the opposi- 
tion, submitted the case to the tribunals of Paris, 
obtaining a special conmiission from the Chancellor 
Duprat for the piupose. The result was the con- 
fession of the secreted fiiar ; whereupon the Superior 
of the Cordeliers and his confederate were condemned 
to fine and imprisonment. 

Such delusions have been frequent from the time 
the Preaching Friars of Bordeaux took occasion to 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 201 

relieve souls of purgatory in proportion to the 
offerings placed before them, to that of the Con- 
vulsionaries, who, at the commencement of the last 
century, exhibited their freaks on the site of the 
cemetery of St. M^dard. 

The most diverting piece of imposition is that 
related by Erasmus of a priest, who, finding the 
fervour of his flock relax to the evident diminution of 
his revenues, let loose one night in his burying-ground 
a quantity of cray-fish, each having a lighted taper 
attached to it. The parishioners instantly repaired 
to their pastor, who affirmed that these wandering 
lights were souls firom purgatory in search of masses ; 
a considerably supply of which was ordered on the 
spot. Owing, however, to the carelessness of the 
priest, a cray-fish, with a piece of tiaper adhering to it, 
was picked up the following day in the church-yard. 

Let those who are disposed to yield credit to ghost 
stories, visit but once a good exhibition of Ombres 
Chinoises, or Fantasmagoria, or the display of some 
able ventriloquist ; and they will perceive that a good 
ghost story is as easy of manufacture as a hat or a pair 
of gloves. 



202 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

NOBILITY AND TRADE. 

The subject before us is too dosely connected 
with the prejudices of mankind not to call for 
consideration. The question is delicate, but we 
hazard the argument, though at the risk of giving 
offence. 

The honours conceded to men of pre-eminent 
merit, who have rendered service to their country, 
or to humanity in general, excite no dissatisfaction ; 
— the reaction begins with the second generation. 
Hereditary nobility is a time-honoured prejudice. 
The founder of an illustrious race is entitled to the 
respect of his contemporaries; but his descendants 
become esteemed in proportion to the value attached 
to their name. Unless they have conferred on it 
additional lustre, the inherited rank exacts little 
consideration. 

Conquest was the origin of the most ancient 
nobility, as well as the foundation of royalty. 
In France, from Clovis to Philip le Bel, there were 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 203 

no other races of nobility ; but after the reign of the 
latter, the Kings of France exercised the right of 
ennoblement. Prom a right, nobility in France became 
a concession. It is clear, therefore, that the power 
of ennoblement, from the time of Philip le Bel, extin- 
guished the illusions concerning nobility which had 
previously prevailed. The facile formation of nobility, 
the metamorphosis of the serf of yesterday into the 
baron of the morrow, undeceived the multitude as to 
the right divine they had hitherto attributed to the 
nobles ; and deteriorated the consequence of the order. 
From that epoch, illustrious names started forth from 
the middle classes to figure at the Courts of 
Sovereigns ; and in each succeeding reign, we find 
names issuing from obscurity to cast a halo over 
the pages of history. Many such still figure there ; 
and some have added fresh lustre to the names be- 
queathed them by their ancestors. 

A King of France one day ennobled all the 
burghers of Paris; who refused the honour, con- 
scious that, all being noble, nobility must cease to 
exist. 

The homage we pay to a great historical name is 
a justifiable feeling. Among the ancient privileges of 
such nobility, one of the finest was that of defending 
the country against foreign invasion. Previous to 
the use of artillery, our armies were chiefly composed 
of cavalry. The infantry became important under 



204 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Francis I^ at the battle of Marignan ; after which^ this 
privilege became of less account. Till then, the 
defence of the country was entrusted to its nobility. 

At the first declaration of war, the King convoked 
the chief vassals of the crown ; who, in their turn, 
assembled their Barons and Counts, according to the 
order of the feudal system, — their vassals, and their 
vassals' vassals ; all marching under the banners of 
their chiefs. Many were reduced to ruin by such 
expeditions. Montesquieu asserts that fear is the soul 
of a despotic government, honour of a monarchical, and 
virtue of a republican. Were he now alive, he would 
perhaps assign- money as the pivot of the represen- 
tative system. How do things proceed in a citizen 
kingdom ? Precisely as in feudal times ! Upon the 
first dedsion of a loan. Government convenes the 
whole financial vassalage, confers with the Barons and 
Coimts of the Stock Exchange, with the puissant 
lords of speculations, and humbler knights of stock 
jobbing. Armed cap-^-pie with the irresistible credit 
of the great vassals, after a series of combats of which 
the stock-jobbers are the heralds and trumpeters, 
they defeat the unfortunate Gauls of the Exchange ; 
while the triumphant Franks risk nothing in the 
expedition. There is little exaggeration in this 
comparison. It often happens that a mere substi- 
tution, and not the overthrow of a system, takes 
place. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 205 

Feudalism still exists^ not only in the financial 
world, but among individuals engaged in the same 
profession. Now that the law of constitutional govern- 
ments has proclaimed the principle of equality, the 
thirst for distinction and supremacy has become more 
prevalent than ever. 

Inmflitaiy and dvU communities, a hierarchy is 
indispensable to exact respect from the lower towards 
the higher grades ; without which, all discipline would 
be impossible. But among men equally free, engaged 
in the same calling, and eating the same bread, we 
can imagine nothing more absurd than the assumed 
supmority of the fortunate over the unprosperous. 
The insolence of the tradesman in a great way of 
business towards the tradesman commendng his career 
far exceeds the insolence of the patrician towards the 
plebeian ; and the field officer of a regiment is often 
seen to treat his subalterns as though they were 
footmen. 

That artists and men of letters should mutually treat 
each other according to the reputation they may have 
acquired, is not surprising; seeing that, in spite of 
the mercantile nature of modem literary productions, 
and the dramatic and literary societies formed for 
the protection of their material interests, men of 
letters, poets, painters, architects, sculptors, musicians, 
and even actors, assume in the eyes of the public 



206 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

predsdy the place assigned to each by public favour 
and success ; standing on the ground of their indi- 
vidual, ond not upon their corporate, merit. 

Nevertheless, in all academies of art, science, and 
literature, the principle of equality prevails. The only 
persons they regard as inferior, are those who on 
their deaths will probably succeed to their places. 

Though we have alluded with sneering levity to 
the Counts and Barons of Finance, we have no 
intention of speaking lightly on the subject. Nothing 
can be more serious than the substitution of financial 
supremacy for those more gloriously earned honours, 
the extinction of which would strike a death-blow at 
civilisation. 

There are several banks in Europe exceeding in 
wealth and power the richest citizens of Rome after 
the conquest of Asia. Independent of steam, of 
gigantic undertakings, manufiekcturing or commercial, 
there is another predominating power of the utmost 
importance; the enormous accumulation of capital 
in the hands of a few, not to be lavished like that of 
the Romans in patronage of the arts, or acts of 
beneficence; but doled out in speculative iracti(His, 
often fatal to the interests of honest industry, and 
rarely conducing to the interests of the country. 

In feudal times, the extortions of the Barons 
were undeniable; and compulsory labour was a 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 207 

humiliating hardship. But upon their return from 
the wars, when exacting from their serfs compensation 
for their shattered armour, it was at least for the 
defence of the soil, as well as to face, the enemy again, 
if necessary, that these benevolences were required. 
In countries where the feudal system is yet in force, 
such as Russia, the moral existence of the serfs is 
inferior to that of our manufacturing workmen; 
while as regards subsistence, the condition of the 
serfs is much less precarious. like our peasants of 
old, they enjoy their family ties, breathe the fresh air, 
and tread upon their native soil ; tilling the land for 
the benefit of their Lord, instead of receiving a 
grudging remuneration for their labour. 

Having frequenfly inquired of heads of manufac- 
tories, the wages of their workmen ; we have received 
such evasive answers, as to be reduced to our own 
conjectures on the subject. 

Suppose that in a manufactory, one hundred pair of 
hands be daily employed, and that the profits be £2000 
per annimi, it is clear that every individual produces £20. 
A mutual convention exists ; the master having the 
power of dismissing the workman, and the latter 
of quitting the master; the former being liable to 
the disasters of fire or bankruptcy, from which the 
workman is exempt. The manufacturer having 
embarked his capital, has an unquestionable right to 
high profits. But all this, is nevertheless serfdom 



208 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

under another form ; and we behold with pity these 
industrious beings, breathing the burning and mephitic 
air prevailing in the factories. The serf when sick, 
is cared for by his Lord; but the factory man is 
dismissed without ceremony. For in the manu- 
facturing districts, man counts but as a machine, 
which if worn out, is replaced by another. 

We can scarcely be surprised, therefore, if the 
financial and manu&cturing aristocracy, — ^the strong- 
box nobility, — ^assume at the present day the con- 
sequence of the chivalrous nobiUty of the olden time. 
It is but fair, however, to admit that there are |j 

generous-minded manufacturers; just as there were 
good-hearted Barons among the feudal tyrants. 

Much might be added on this subject ; but a 
further disquisition would only prolong into a political 
discussion, what we have only pretended to treat ou 
the score of vulgar prejudice. 



1 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 209 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



MERIT AND POPULARITY. 



What is popularity? By what indications is it 
known? Who ratifies its titles? And do those 
titles, conferred by favoritism, error, influence, preju- 
dice, interest, or flattery, possess more value or more 
durability than the scattered leaves on which the 
Sybil inscribed her oracles ? Is merit a positive thing 
or a relative — a matter of conversation, or of proof? 

What, we say again, is popularity? How is it 
acquired ? How forfeited ? Is it the result of merit, 
or a capricious out-burst of opinion impersonating 
itself so as to enjoy its own homage under the 
traits of a Uving statue ? 

To these questions, it is difficult to give a definitive 
and conclusive reply. Popularity is often the privilege 
and shield of a fool or rascal ; while genuine merit 
of a real and indisputable quality seldom secures 
it unless fi*om some accidental cause. Those who 
aspire to popularity care more for the amount of 

p 



210 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

suffrages, than for their specific worth. They delight 
in being the object of popular excitement; and 
hearing their name re-echoed, assign their personal 
qualities as the cause of these capricious demonstra- 
tions. True merit heeds not such fulsome accla- 
mations ; — too well aware that the man who becomes 
the tool of popularity, ends in being an object of 
contempt. 

There are numerous ways of achieving popularity. 
But we must not forget to distinguish the difference 
between the popularity of men, and the popularity 
of their productions. Both are variable ; being subject 
to the influence of events, the vacillations of parties, 
and of human inconstancy. Popularity is, however, 
less fickle as regards the masterpieces of the mind of 
man, than as regards individuals whom it fi^uently 
raises to the sky, the better to fling them down 
into the dust. A man may sometimes be popular 
in spite of himself; dragged from his seclusion, 
elevated above his natural position only to sink for 
want of appropriate support. 

How many examples are to be found in our 
history, of such ephemeral popularity; the idol of 
to-day being proscribed on the morrow of his ovation ! 
On such occasions, the public resembles a mind 
obeying by turns two directly opposite impulsions. 
In such perplexities, the scales are rarely held with a 
steady hand ; and when they discover a man to be 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 211 

deficient in the merit they have gratuitovisly attributed 
to him, they avenge themselves by unnecessarily 
depreciating that which they have capriciously over- 
rated. The man who delights in popularity is as 
much subjugated as the* veriest slave in Rome. 
He must obey those whom he desires to command ; 
must adopt measures he wishes to repress; and if 
for a moment he venture to pause for the admeasure- 
ment of the abyss he is approaching, is taxed with 
cowardice and treachery I 

How great was the popularity of the brothers 
Lameth, when Mirabeau made the terrible allusion : 
'^ And I too could command a triumph. But from 
the Capitol to the Tarpeian rock, there is but a 
step 1" How great was the popularity of that very 
colossus of eloquence, Mirabeau himself; who died 
in the nick of time that he might not survive the 
public favour which was rapidly declining. 

What King was ever so popular as Louis XYI ? 
Yet his popularity had passed away long before 
he ascended that throne of revolutions, the scaffold. 
The popularity of Henri IV. lasted during his life, 
and was renewed by his tragic end ; but lay torpid 
for a century after his death* to be revived by the 
genius of Voltaire. Under Louis XIIL and Louis XTV., 
the name of Henri IV. was never mentioned ; and had 
not the poem of the Henriade refreshed the memory 
of the only King of whom the people are said to 

p 2 



212 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

keep holy the recollection; Henri IV., like Louis 
XIL, and other excellent Kings of France, would 
have been forgotten. 

After repopularizing Henri IV., Voltaire became 
in his turn the most popular man in France,jespeciafly 
in the regions of the social and intellectual world. 
Voltaire was the prince of flatterers. He flattered, 
at the same time, kings and the people, but reproved 
as skilfully, so that he delighted kings by their 
personal praise, and the people by general reproaches 
against kings. 

Voltaire enjoyed immense popularity during his life, 
and high honours after death ; but in the sequel, he 
reaped the bitter fruits of the tree of evil he had 
planted. All but forgotten during the Revolution, 
quite so during the Empire, Voltaire only renewed his 
popularity at the Restoration. The oflicial censure 
issued against the reprinting of his works, served 
for a time to restore him to importance. 

Voltaire so completely absorbed the attention of 
his time, that not one of the great geniuses moving 
in the same sphere, arrived at any thing approaching 
his popularity. Montesquieu would not compete with 
him ; and even Jean Jacques Rousseau, in spite of 
the superiority of his style, barely acquired popu- 
larity. 

In general, popularity attaches rather to political 
than literary eminence ; inclining towards trivialities, 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 213 

such as songs and epigrams, rather than to works of 
merit. A particular style of dress, or a cap of a 
particular colour is often necessary to secure popular 
favour. Yet popularity among the vulgar is not 
to be despised, being often the guerdon of works of 
genuine merit ; more particularly as regards the Fine 
Arts. Barrel organs grinding the beautiful airs of our 
great composers in the streets, stamp them with a 
certificate of popularity ; while, as regards pictures, 
their popularity . is often insured by the interven- 
tion of some unskilful engraver. 

Popularity sometimes attaches itself to tyrants ; and 
Caligula and Nero were more popular in Rome than 
Germanicus. What mattered the slaughter of 
senators and patricians, or the confiscation of their 
property, so long as the proceeds afforded food 
and sports to the people? The populace delight 
especially in the downfall of royal favourites ; and the 
overthrow of the statue of Sejanus, once the idol of 
Rome, was hailed with shouts of exultation. We 
cannot be surprised, however, that the Emperors 
of Rome were popular ; since Louis XI. of France, 
and Henry VIII. of England were popular because 
they humbled the great, and summoned into their 
council men of the lowest origin. 

Cardinal ' Richelieu completed the work of Louis 
XI. and destroyed the last vestiges of feudalism. 
But in this case, the same course produced a contrary 



214 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

effect. Richilieu was not popular. So tme is it 
that popularity knows ndther law nor precedent. 
Louis XIV., though not individuafly popular, was 
honoiu^d for his conquests, so long as he remained 
victorious. Louis XY. was popular only twice in his 
long life ; once, when a false report of his death had 
prevailed; and once, when he alighted from his 
carriage in Paris to kneel before the Holy 
Sacrament. Popularity possesses a somewhat loose 
morality ; at times adopting the mistresses of Kings ; 
such as Gabrielle d'Estr^es, Agnes Sord, and even 
the infamous Pompadour and du Barry. 

Of the great men who adorned the reign of Louis 
XIV., few were popular during their life-time, with the 
excepti(Hi of Moli^e and CorneOle. Moli^e, because 
the power of his genius placed itself between the 
monarch and his people, castigating the vices of all 
classes with equal ridicule ; ComeSle, because he 
excited the heroism of the kingdom by exalting the 
Romans. His popularity was, however, less the result 
of his genius, than of the envious persecutions of 
Cardinal Richelieu. 

Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, acquired only pos- 
thumous fame, purely literary, and likely to last 
for ever. : Men of science are seldom popular ; their 
devotion to science, and the purity of thdr calling 
confining their renown within certain limits. Those 
who benefit by the results of their labours, think of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 215 

them as lightly as those who enjoy the warmth of 
the SUB, without bestowing a thought upon its 
source. Few who use the barrow and the truck are 
aware that for these useful inventions they are 
indebted to Pascal; and -what more popular than 
certain proverbs and quotations forming part of ev^y 
conversation, of which few of us are able to name 
the author. 

The Revolution of 1 789 was popular, and men of the 
highest merit shared in its popularity by their 
adherence. Mathieu de Montmorency was popular 
when the representative of the first Christian Barony 
sacrificed his titles to the love of equality. The 
Bishop of Autun was popular when he presented to 
the Constituent Assembly a proposition for aj^lying 
the )?evenues of the church to make good the deficit 
in the public revenue. The Abb^ Si^yes was popular 
when he pointed out the rights of man, omitting to 
speak of his duties ; and no popularity ever exceeded 
that of Bailly, till the fatal day of his death upon the 
scaffold. The taking of the Bastille cannot be 
considered a popular act, if tl^ quality and nimiber 
of the instigators be taken into account. But the 
remembrance of the act became popular; and it was 
consecrated the following year by the first federation 
solemnized in the Champ de Mars. 

NevOT were there two more striking examples of the 
changes of public opinion, than Rienzi at Rome, and 



216 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Marat at Paris. The same populace which dragged 
the remains of the former through the mud, after- 
wards assisted to place his relics in the Pantheon 
dedicated to the illustrious men of the country. 

In like manner, Cromwell, whose memory was for 
more than a century infamous in England, is about 
to obtain a statue in the Nationd Senate. 

Robespierre forfeited his popularity the moment 
he attempted to check the effusion of blood of the 
victims ; when the good cause of 1 789 had become 
sanguinary and frantic. Danton was more popular 
than Barrfere. The Girondins were popular with the 
people ; the Mountagre faction with the populace. It 
is remarkable, that in those times, every new adminis- 
tration of Grovemment was hailed by the acclamations 
of the people : who were just as sure to rejoice at its 
downfall. So has it been in every great crisis in France. 
In public exigencies, promises are made, incapable of 
realization; every successive Government having shrunk 
from innovation and reform, when it came to the 
moment of fulfilment. After the first Revolution, 
popularity attended their military successes ; but 
deserted the vaciflating policy of the Directory, and 
followed the banner of conquest to Italy, imder which 
the genius of Napoleon first shone forth ; saluting its 
victorious General on his return to Paris, accompany, 
ing him into Egypt ; and on his second return, raising 
him to sovereign power. 



A WOtlLD OF WONDERS, 217 

From the 18th Bmmaire, till the year 1812, 
popularity adhered constantly to a single victorious 
standard. At the murder of the Duke D'Enghien, 
popular enthusiasm underwent a certain degree of 
modification, and partially adopted the Empress 
Josephine as the palladium of the imperial fortunes ; to 
which vulgar credulity and subsequent events seemed 
to lend authenticity. The popularity of the Emperor 
declined after his divorce. 

In our examination of the influence of events upon 
the French people, we have only twice found them . 
manifest, at the same moment, exultation and 
sorrow. Their indignation at the Emperor's cruel 
usage of Josephine, vanished before the cradle of 
the King of Rome, and France was unanimous in 
its gratulations on the birth of the imperial infant. 
The other event is of later date. The day after the 
assassination of the Duke de Berry, the gloom was 
universal. Some were horror-struck at the murder, 
some deeply attached to the Prince and his family ; 
while many were astonished to find a mortal man 
where they had hitherto only discerned a Prince. 
Nevertheless, the partizans of the imperial cause 
regarded the event as the removal of an obstacle. 

Popularity escorted Charles X. from St. Cloud 
to Paris upon proceeding there to take possession 
of his throne, and restore the liberty of the press, 
which was destined some day to reverse it. It also 



218 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

attadied itself to the gates of the Palais Royal as the 
residence of the Orleans &mily; but merely to 
mark a growing aversion to tiie Tuileries ; a negative 
triumph like that of an opposition united only by a 
common enmity to the powers that be. 

In England, a similar transition was visible when 
the once popular Prince of Wales, adopted by the 
people in opposition to the Court of the reigning 
sovereign, became, as Prince Regent, an object of 
public dislike I 

Among the heroes and victims of popularity may 
be numbered La Fayette. For half a century did 
he wrestle with the fluctuations (^ public &vour. 
When at the head of the Urban Guard, which 
subsequently assumed the name of the Naitional 
Guard, La Fayette was at the zenith oi his 
glory. The colour of his very horse became 
popular; and ev^y one adopted his method of 
dressing his hair. Popularity becoming negligent 
of her idol, the scowls of the Court served to revive 
it; but falling into disgrace with the Legislative 
Assembly, it was again at fault. Thus ended the 
first act of the drama of La Fayette's popularity. 

Madame de Stael pronounced him to be an 
obstacle to his adversaries, rather than an aid to his 
fiiends. The public soon lost sight of the man so 
long the toy of its caprices. Shut up in the prison 
of Olmiitz, he owed his deliverance to the Conqueror 



\ 



A WORLD 01^ WONDERS. 219 

of Italy, and returned to Prance unnoticed ; he after- 
wards offended the First Consul by presuming to 
offer lessons to him upon the art of Government, 
and till the Restoration lived in complete seclusion. 

A trip to the United States, in securing whose 
Independence he had distinguished himself in early 
life, served to stir up the smouldering embers of his 
popularity, which he left no means imattempted to 
increase; and at the Revolution of July, popularity 
assigned to La Fayette the honours of a new 
triumph; restoring to him the command of the 
National Guard. 

The rapidity with which his name fell into obHvion 
on his decease, proves that these apparitions of 
departed popularity — ^these reflections of an earlier 
favour— are rarely permanent ; and that to attain the 
honours of history, a more solid merit is required 
than that which secures the ephemeral sunshine of 
Popularity. 



220 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



COMETS. 



Comets played a leading part among the omens 
of the olden time ; and the appearance of one in the 
heavens was the signal for popular panic. The 
unlooked for appearance of a comet became a god- 
send to the astrologers. 

The credit of omens, however, was on the decline 
from the time when Cato declared that it was 
impossible for two augurs to meet without a smile ; 
and for the Romans, the discredit of presages and 
omens was an important matter, nature and all her 
works furnishing them with indications from which 
auguries might be elicited. The omens of which 
they stood most in awe were invariably connected 
with the left side. Thunder audible from the left, or 
even the croaking of a frog to the left, filled them 
with such consternation, that they instantly propitiated 
the Gods by an oflfering. The sudden appearance 
of a mouse, determined Fabius Maximus to abdicate 
the dictatorship ; and the Consul Flaminius renounced 






A WORLD OP WONDERS. 221 

a command of cavalry in consequence of the same 
sinister omen. Great events certainly proceeded in 
those centuries from the smallest causes. But in all 
this, the self-love and vanity of the human race were 
chiefly apparent, the ancients being convinced that 
even in the most insignificant details of their lives, 
the Gods were actively interested. 

Hannibal rose superior to this weakness. Having 
advised Prusias to give battle to the Romans, it is 
related that the King of Bithynia declined, ailing 
that the entrails of the victims suggested a contrary 
conclusion. 

" You prefer then," said the Carthaginian hero, 
" the advice of a sheep's liver to that of the head of 
a veteran General ? — I pity you !" 

Ancient history affords only too many instances 
of similar superstition ; from the sacred fowls which 
were consulted only in imminent dangers, to the 
deformed children flung into the Tiber, lest they 
should bring down evil oil the republic. The practice 
of the ancient Germans, by the way, of plunging 
new-bom infants into the Danube to render them 
robust, is more easily explained; since being necessarily 
fatal to weakly children, the qualities of the healthy 
ones who survived were readily attributable to the 
immersion. 

The absurd prejudices connected with the appearance 
of comets, are about equally deserving of attention. 



222 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Madame de S^vigne writes upon this subject in her 
usual lively style. 

" We are visited by a comet," sa^ she, in one of 
her letters to her daughter, " which is the finest of its 
kind, and possesses one of the most splendid tails ever 
beheld in the heavens. All our great personages 
are terrified; conceiving that Providence, having 
nothing better to do than watch over their paltry 
comings and goings, has decreed their downfall, and 
sent an intimation of it to the world by means of this 
comet." Cardinal Mazarin was just then given over 
by his physicians, and those about him saw fit to 
flatter his vanity by pretending that the Almighty had 
signalized his last moments by a prodigy. Having 
mentioned to him that a terrible comet was announcing 
the great event which struck panic into the world, 
he had strength of mind to jest upon their vile 
adulation, assuring them that the comet '^ did him a 
great deal too much honour." It would be well, were 
all men to judge as wisely ; for human pride must be 
blind indeed, to suppose that the stars have no other 
duty in their spheres than to regulate the affairs of 
mortals. 

A celebrated Spanish author has written conc^n- 
ing comets with even less reverence than Madame 
de Sdvign^. 

" Comets," said he, " are the very Iwraggarts oi the 
sky. They have been aptly used as engines for the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 223 

intimidation of Sovereigns, who have less to fear 
upon the face of the earth than other men. Still, it 
is scarcely necessary that the celestial bodies should 
derange themselves to appal them, so long as they 
have the ambition of neighbouring Princes, the in- 
subordination of their subjects, and the niunerous 
plagues of government to hold them in subjection/' 

The same writer attacks the influence of comets 
in terms less reverential than those of the learned 
dissertations of Bayle ; for he pretends that the earth 
is too small a planet to attract so vast a meteor. As 
regards their influence in the necrology of Kings, he 
proves that the average life of royal personages equals 
the average life of peasants ; without requiring the aid 
of a comet to announce their natural dissolution. 

Various interpretations have been afiixed at diffe- 
rent times to the appearance of comets. Thus, the 
one that appeared at Rome, shortly after the death 
of Julius Caesar, was regarded as a glorification of the 
deceased Emperor ; and in 1 8 1 1 , on the appearance 
of the comet which has given its name to the year, 
as, " Tann^e de la comfete," — (the wines made from 
grapes grown under its fervid influence being sold 
under the name of Comet wines) — ^an attempt was 
made to convert it into an homage to the glory of the 
Emperor Napoleon ! 



224 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



POPULAR ERRORS. 



A POPULAR error of the most fatal kind was the 
idea formerly prevalent that a drowned person, being 
overpowered by the qiiantity of water he had swal- 
lowed, was susceptible of restoration by suspending 
him with the head downwards, so as to force him to 
disgorge it. More persons owed their death to this 
stupid operation, than to the suspended respiration it 
was intended to restore. It is only during the 
present century that the experiments of the faculty 
aU over the world have pointed out that the only 
course to pursue with persons taken insensible out of 
the water, is to restore circulation by warmth and 
friction of the extremities; and respiration, by the 
introduction of air into the limgs. 

An equally strange legislative abuse connected with 
this subject, prevailed in Paris till within the last few 
years. A reward of twelve francs, or ten shillings 
was given to any person who saved another from 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 225 

drowning by extricating his body from the Seine, 
while a reward of six-and-thirty francs, or three times 
as much, was given to the person who rescued a 
dead body from the water ! This was evidently con- 
ceived in the hygienic interests of a city, where the 
river water is in such extensive use for baths and 
drinking ; but it was in point of fact offering a 
premium for murder: the morality of navigatory 
populations being in most countries at a low ebb. 

Another French delusion fatal to human preser- 
vation, is the idea that the person who cuts down 
the body of another found hanging, legally involves 
himself in an accusation of murder ; and nothing 
can be more injudicious than the harshness with 
which the proceedings of an inquest are often pur- 
sued ; as if to justify the poltroonery of those whose 
first impulse on discovering a body is to go in search 
of witnesses of the circumstances attending the dis- 
covery, instead of lending immediate aid. 

A more innocent, but not less groundless popular 
prejudice is, that which attaches itself to that most 
useful of domestic animals, the ass — the war-horse of 
the poor. In aU countries, this sure-footed and 
faithful animal is adopted as an emblem of stupidity, 
from the patience with which it submits to punish- 
ment and endures privation. A pair of ass's ears 
is inflicted upon a child in reproof of his duncehood ; 
and through life we hear every blockhead of our 

Q 



226 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

acquaintance called an. ass. Whereas the ass is a beast 
of great intelligence; and we often owe our safety 
to its sure and imerring foot beside the perilous 
precipice, where the steps of the man of science 
would have fiadtered. 

The Fathers of the Church, and the Disciples of 
the Sorbonne, persuaded of the universal influence of 
the Christian faith, believed the dark cross on the 
back of tiie ass to date only from the day on which 
our Saviour made his entry into Jerusalem. The 
ass of the desart was an animal of great price. 
Pliny mentions that the Senator Arius paid for one 
the sum of four hundred thousand sesterces. Natu- 
ralists have frequently remarked the extraordinary 
dimensions c^ an ass's heart, which is thought an 
indication of courage ; and it is the custom of the 
peasantry of some coimtries to make their children 
wear a piece of ass's skin about their person. The 
ass's skin is peculiarly valuable, botii for the manu- 
facture of writing- tablets and drums ; which may be 
the reason why a dead ass is so rarely seen. It is 
too valuable to be left on the highway. In many 
places, the ass serves as a barometer. If he roll in 
the dust, fine weather may be expected ; but if he 
erect his ears, rain is certain. Why should ,not 
animals experience the same atmospheric influences as 
man ? Are we not light-hearted in the simshine, 
and depressed in a heavy atmosphere. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 227 

Louis XL, of France, was a great patron of 
the ass. His astrologers having failed in their 
predictions concerning the weather, he. dismissed 
them, and substituted an ass in their place, as being 
more weather-wise. Certain physicians consider the 
emanations from the ass's body to possess beneficial 
medical properties ; while, in former days, the blood 
of the buU was considered poisonous. 

The credulous Hutarch declared that Themis- 
todes poisoned himself with bullock's blood, upon 
the authority of the priests of Egina, who are 
also dted by Pliny ; and this same bullock's blood, 
esteaned poisonous^ was also considered a moral 
piuificatibn ; — sins being expiated by the sprinkling 
of the human body with the blood of the bull. 
On solemn occasions, when the criminal was a 
man of wealth and distinction, so that a bull was 
dedicated to his use, the blood was made to fall 
m a perforated T^sd, and the criminal standing 
hemis^i received the saened aspersion upon his 
face and attire. The Emperor Julian submitted 
to this act of expiation. Bullock's blood is now 
known tg be as innocuous as that of other animals ; 
and is extensively used in more than one manufac- 
ture. 

During the Middle Ages, ground glass was sup- 
posed to act as an infallible poison ; and was long 

a 2 



228 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

known by the name of " Succession Powder." Mont- 
fleury speaks of it in one of his comedies. One of 
the personages, showing a packet of it, observes: 
" Here is the making of many an heir I" 

Portal, and several other French physicians, have 
asserted in their works, that ground glass is fatal to 
the swallower ; and it is frequently used by the poor as 
ratsbane, mixed up with the compositions intended for 
the extermination of vermin. Jugglers were the first 
to controvert this error, by publicly swallowing it with 
impunity, a feat which Dr. Franck having witnessed, 
he immediately experimentalized on himself, and 
published the results as conclusive against the received 
opinion. 

About the year 1810, a physician of Caen, named 
Sauvage, confirmed the opinion of Franck. A young 
lady under his care swallowed a quantity of powdered 
glas^ for the purpose of self-destruction without ex- 
periencing the least injury ; upon which Sauvage tried 
experiments on various animals, administering ground 
glass to cats, dogs, and rats, on opening the bodies of 
which, he could not detect the smallest effect. 
Many similar experiments produced the same 
results. Dr. Cayol, in presence of his colleagues, 
swallowed a quantity of irregular fragments of glass. 
So, also, did Sauvage, without producing the smallest 
derangement of the digestive organs. 

It is worthy of remark, that mountebanks often 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 229 

clear the way for the march, of science ; a proof 
that the most trivial observations may be the origin 
of the grandest results. Some students of Oxford, 
on visiting Newton, found him blowing bubbles from 
a straw, and considered the occupation childish. 
The philosopher was studying the theory of light. 

Since we have alluded to mountebanks, let us 
devote a few more words to them. Jugglers 
have been known to swallow, not only pounded 
glass, but stones and knife blades. A celebrated 
Spaniard, accused by the Inquisition, proved his 
innocence by swallowing fiery coals without injury ; 
and the savage found in the woods at Aveyron, 
devoured all sorts of fowls with their feathers. 
But these exploits will not bear comparison with 
those of the Molucca savage, of whom we read an 
account in a volume entitled : " The Testament of 
Jerome Sharp," printed in 1786. 

" I entered," says the narrator, " with one of 
my friends, and foimd a man resembling an 
ourang-outang crouched upon a stool in the manner 
of a tailor. His complexion announced a distant 
climate, and his keeper stated that he found 
him in the island of Molucca. His body was 
bare to the hips, having a chain round the 
waist, seven or eight feet long, was fastened to a 
pillar, and permitted him to circulate out of 
the reach of the spectators. His looks and ges- 



230 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

ticulations were frightful. His jaws never ceased 
snapping, except when sending forth discordant 
aies, which were said to be indicative of hunger. 
He swallowed flints when thrown to him, but 
preferred raw meat, which he rushed behind his 
pillar to devour. He groaned fearfiilly during his 
repast, and continued groaning imtil fully satiated. 
When imable to procure more meat, he would 
swallow stones with frightful avidity; which, upon 
examination of those which he accidentally dropped^ 
proved to be partly dissolved by the acrid quality 
of his saliva. In jumping about, the und^ested 
stones were heard rattUng in his stomach." 

The men of science quickly set to work to 
account for these feats, so completely at variance 
with the laws of nature. But before they had hit 
upon a theory, the pretended Molucca savage 
proved to be a peasant from the neighbourhood of 
Besan9on, who chose to turn to account his 
natural deformities. When staining his face for the 
purpose, in the dread of hurting his eyes, he lefl 
the eyelids unstained, which completely puzzled 
the natiu-alists. By a clever sleight of hand, the 
raw meat was left behind the pillar, and cooked 
meat substituted in its place. Some asserted his 
passion for eating behind the pillar to be a 
proof of his savage origin ; most polite persons, 
and more especially Kings, being addicted to feeding 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 231 

in public. The stones swallowed by the pretended 
savage were taken froro a vessel left purposely 
in the room full of them ; small round stones, 
encrusted with plaster, which afterwards gave them 
the appearance of having been masticated in the 
mouth. Before the discovery of all this, the 
impostor bad contrived to reap a plentiftil har- 
vest. 

Some time afterwards, a woman was exhibited near 
the Louvre, who devoured flints and slate with the 
utmost avidity. But the scientific world, forewarned 
by its former credulity, took no note of her pecu- 
liarities of appetite. 

It is recorded in the Gazette of Health, that the 
Abb^ Monnier, of St. Jean d'Ang^y, used in his 
youth to grind between his teeth fragments of stone 
for recreation, and even in his declining age, continued 
the custom. He would swallow a spoonfuU during 
the day, and did not consider his dinner complete 
without them. He was always pale and emaciated, 
which was attributed to his singular diet. But his 
brother, who did not feed upon stones, was precisely 
of the same temperament and appearance. The 
Abh6 lived tiU the age of ninety-eight. Diseased 
persons have been known to devour without injury, 
earth, stones, chalk, and plaster; and an eminent 
physician used to eat small lumps of plaster- of-Paris, 
as others swallow sugar-plums. 



232 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

In the anatomical inquiries of Menelaus Win- 
semius, a Dutch physidan, he relates that in his 
time, a peasant of Friesland was in the hahit of 
swallowing flints, wood, glass, and live fish. In 
Wurtembei^, there was also a miller, who for money 
would swallow birds, mice, lizards, caterpillars, or 
fragments of glass and stone. He one day swallowed 
an inkstandish, with all its appurtenances. These 
feats were publicly attested by the Senate of Wurtem- 
berg; after which, the man lived nineteen years, 
subsisting upon twelve pounds of food per diem. 
There is scarcely a fair throughout Europe at which 
such feats are not exhibited on a minor scale. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 233 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



DREAMS. 



In modem times^ dreams have become a gratuitdUs 
oSsir; but in the time of lotteries they possessed 
the greatest value with the votaries of Blind 
Fortune. At the French offices, a register was kept 
of lucky numbers, whose prizes were the result of 
dreams. Not a day passed but the office keepers 
were applied to for numbers, the combination of 
which was foretold by dreams. 

However great the weakness of those who put 
undue faith in such omens, it must be admitted that 
the wanderings of the mind during sleep have been 
productive of marvellous results. But just as the 
slightest opinions of Montaigne are the result of 
the minutest self-study, a person desirous to ascertain 
the real importance of a dream ought to consider 
what was the state of health, disposition, mind and 
feeling of the dreamers. Many dreams constitute a 
mere continuation of the occupations of the day. 



234 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Others arise from our habitual strain of mind. 
During iUness or fever, the mind, and consequently 
the dreams by which it is perplexed, assume an 
exalted and unnatural tone. 

Authors have been known to compose during 
their sleep. Voltaire declares that he composed his 
verses to Monsieur Touron while asleep ; and on 
returning from a ball, what young dancer does not 
fancy during the night, that the violins of the 
orchestra are still ringing in his ears ? Hippocrates 
was so persuaded of the analogy of dreams with 
our -physical condition, that he points out specifics 
against evil dreaming. If the stars turn pale in 
your dreams, you are to run in a circle; if the 
moon, you must run in a straight line ; if the 
sun, you must run both in a straight line and 
a circle to avoid a repetition of the evil omen. 

By these prescriptions, he prevailed upon the 
lazy Athenians to assist their bad digestion by the 
effect of exercise, so as to procure a calm and 
gentle sleep. 

Pliny, the younger, mentions the following fact: 
" One of my slaves, who was sleeping with his 
companions in the place usuafly allotted to them, 
dreamed that two men, dressed in white, entered 
through the window, and having shaven their heads, 
departed by the way they came. The following 
morning he was found shaved, and his hair scat- 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 235 

tered on the ground." This was probably some 
waggish trick practised on him by his companions 
when in a state of intoxication. 

Valerius Maximus, on the authority of Cicero, 
relates a remarkable dream : 

"Two fellow-travellers arrived at Megara; the 
one putting up at an hotel, the other at the house 
of a friend. Scarcely had the former fallen asleep, 
when he saw his companion imploring him to come 
to his aid, as his host was attempting to murder him. 
The impression was so strong as to wake him ; when, 
finding it a delusion, he went to sleep again. Once 
more, his friend appeared, announcing the accom- 
plishment of the crime, and that his assassin had 
concealed his body under the dunghill, to which he 
begged his companion to repair betimes, before they 
had time to remove it out of the city. Over- 
awed by so awful a vision, the friend rose forthwith, 
and proceeding to the scene of the murder, found a 
carter and his cart about to quit the court. On 
insisting to examine the load, the carter fled ; when 
the body was extricated from the dung, the whole 
affair discovered, and the host condemned to death.'^ 

This Greek story is related on the authority of 
Cicero, who was never at Megara, and consequently 
knew the fact by hearsay. Had Cicero asserted that 
he witnessed the affair, the story would have been 
difficult to believe ; as it is, posterity is absolved from 
the smallest credence. 



236 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

There lived at Marseilles, a bigoted woman, who 
passed her days at church, and dreamt every night 
that she was transformed into a lamp: a dream 
she chose to verify; for, on the day of her death, 
a sQver lamp was suspended, at her cost, in the choir 
of the church in which she was wont to follow her 
devotions. 

Dreams are the peculiar province of the poet, 
iBneas, to justify his abandonment of Dido, cites the 
commands of his father, who appears to him every 
night. What more beautiful, except perhaps the 
dream of Athalia, than the dream of ^neas, in which 
Hector^presents himself to the son of Anchises, pale 
and ghastly, as after he had become a victim to the 
vengeance of Achilles ? In the Greek plays, and the 
French tragedies imitated from the Greek, dreams 
form a prominent feature. The family of Atrides 
were great dreamers : — ^Atreus, Agamemnon, Orestes, 
and Egisthus, the son of Atreus, had all remarkable 
dreams. 

In Lemercier's tragedy of " Agamemnon," Egis- 
thus relates that which is evidently the result of a 
dream; — ^but he will not admit it to be a dream, 
declaring that he " did not sleep." 

The impressions of dreams are often so vivid that 
we confoimd in our memory real facts with the visions 
of sleep. Hence, no doubt, the popular expres- 
sion of " You must have dreamt that !" 

The existence of dreams must be coeval with the 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 237 

human race. By the ancients, the Gods were thought 
to preside over them. TTie dreams of Pharaoh made 
the fortune of Joseph; and Artemidorus acquired 
a great reputation under the Antonines, by inter- 
preting dreams. According to him, to dream of 
being weighed down by a mountain, portended 
proscription; and to dream of death, meant mar- 
riage. To dream that you are deprived of sight, 
intimates that you ore about to lose one of your 
children. Artemidorus interpreted dreams in the 
same manner as the celebrated Mademoiselle Lienor- 
mand, or as Mrs. Williams, so well-known in London 
at the commencement of the present century. 



238 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



i 

i 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

OF PREJUDICES ATTACHED TO CERTAIN ANIMALS. 

Innumerable are the auguries which the renmants 
of ancient superstition have attached to certain 
animals. To meet a flock of sheep, is considered a 
lucky omen. To overtake one when proceeding to 
the house of a friend, determines many people to turn 
back as indicative of an inhospitable reception. 

Two magpies are sure forerunners of good news ; 
but a single one is supposed to foreshow tidings of 
the death of a friend. 

Spiders are of evil omen; though the mischief 
they convey is attributed, in Scotland, solely to the 
family of Bruce. There is a French proverb which 
says, " Arraign^e du soir — espoir,'' as if the hour of 
the day influenced the nature of the omen. Lalande, 
the astronomer, is known to have been fond of eating 
spiders. Yet the insect is an object of repugnance to 
most people ; and is, in some species, venomous. 

Of all reptiles, the toad is the most universally 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 239 

d^;ested ; as if gifted with a magnetism of repulsion. 
The Abb^ Rousseau asserts in his Treatise on 
Natural History, that the sight of a toad has been 
known to produce convulsions and death. " Having 
^idosed one of these reptiles," says he, " in a glass jar, I 
stood watching it ; when the creature rose on its hinder 
legs, fixing its red and inflamed eyes upon me^ till I 
became so faint and depressed, as to be on the point 
swooning* A cold dew rose upon my face, such 
as announces the approach of death." This was 
probably the result of fear alone. Two living beings 
cannot long stare fixedly at each other without one 
giving way. The power of the visual organ is 
very great; and the stronger controls the weaker. 
As the pointer arrests tiie partridge, the eye of 
Marius arrested the arm of the Cimb^ sent to 
assassinate him; and by fixing his eye upon a 
troublesome dog, Talma could always prevent its 
barking. The toad is a disgusting animal, but not 
a noxious animal. It destroys many insects in- 
jurious to the beauty of our flower-gardens, and 
plumpness of our esculents; while for sobriety, it 
has no competitor. Toads have been found imbedded 
in blocks of marble and trunks of trees, deprived 
of aQ chance of external air or nutriment. 

The lizard, which is nearly as unseemly to look 
on as the toad, has long been deemed the fiiend 
of man ; and the vulgar had formerly a superstition 



240 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

that a piece of lizard's tail worn on the person 
secured good fortune. 

Lizards are sociably disposed, and fond of the 
human voice. They are said by travellers in 
Surinam and Cayenne, to awake a sleeping person 
on the approach of the rattlesnake. Alarmed at 
the approach of a snake, they have probably been 
known to cross the face of some man lying asleep ; 
and have thus given rise to a popular fallacy. But 
if lizards be not the benefactors of the human race, 
at least they do us no harm ; a quality that might 
be advantageously transferred to many of our own 
species. 

Fliny maintains that oysters grow fat or thin 
according to the phases of the moon; while most 
modem oyster-eaters attribute the change to certain 
months rather than certain weeks of the year. It is 
an equally erroneous supposition that milk promotes 
the digestion of oysters ; which may be proved by 
trying to dissolve them in hot or cold milk. The 
prejudice that they are out of season when no R 
figures in the name of the month, originated in 
the difficylty of transferring them fi-esh from the 
coast to the capital during the months of May, June, 
July, and August. By the sea-side, they will be 
found good at all seasons of the year« 

In ancient times, the appearance of an owl in the 
day-time was esteemed a prodigy ; and the Romans 



A WORLD OF WONDERS- 241 

used to rush to the temples, oflFering incense to the 
Gods ! Pliny considers the apparition of an owl an 
omen of sterility ; and an omelet made of owl's eggs 
was a sovereign specific against ebriety. Among 
villagers, the shriek of the owl is still dreaded 
as a summons to the other world. Yet this 
bird was favoiu'ed by dedication to the Goddess 
of Wisdom, though ungifted with the powers of 
divination ascribed by the Qreeks to the vulture. 
According to the ancients, the vulture possessed such 
olfactory powers, that it could foreshow the death 
of a person three days previous to his decease. 

It may be observed, that all the animals to which 
particular superstitions are attached, were known to 
the ancients; whereas those discovered during the 
latter ages are free from imputation of supernatural 
power. 

The wild beasts of all climates make man their 
prey; but none kill him by a look, as was said 
of the basilisk.- Among the ancients, Aristotle, 
Pliny, and Galen, persisted in the foregoing 
opinion ; and among modem propagators of errors, 
the German Athazen, and the Italian Vitello. If 
Rome, the superb, crouched before an owl, a basilisk 
compelled Alexander to raise the siege of an Asiatic 
city. Taking the besieged under its protection, a 
basilisk, esconced betwixt two stones on the ramparts, 
repulsed, without moving, two himdred Macedonians 

R 



242 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

who were rash enough to attack it. Sir Thomas 
Brown suggests the possibility^ that the poison of 
the basilisk may be so intense and subtle^ as to be 
darted forth by means of its visual organ. 

The venomous bite of the viper has given rise to a 
variety of popular prejudices. The tooth of St. 
Amable was once the only specific; to which suc- 
ceeded a faith in the antidote of Maltese earth. 
Meanwhile the utmost efforts of the faculty remain 
fruitless agamst the bite of the rattle-snake, of the 
cobra di maniUa, and several other of the more 
venomous species. The quality of their venom 
is supposed to remain unimpaired by the death of 
the reptiles; and instances are cited of individuals 
having died of handling them, even after being 
preserved in spirits of wine. The venom is deposited 
in two vesicles on either side the head, above the 
muscle of the upper jaw, the remainder of its body 
being completely innocuous ; so that, in former days, 
viper broth was frequently prescribed in pulmonary 
complaints. The venom of the viper becomes less 
intense as it advances in age. 

It used to be believed, that the saliva of man was 
fatal to vipers, as their venom to ourselves; an 
opinion maintained by Aristotle, Galen, Varro, 
PHny, and Figuier, the surgeon. The latter asserts 
that he killed a viper by the effect of his own saliva. 
The experiments by Redi, the learned physician of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS, 243 

• 

the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and many others, 
proved the absurdity of the idea. 

Benvenuto Cellini declares, in his Memoirs, that he 
saw a salamander in the midst of his own fire ; 
probably a lizard, inadvertantly brought from the 
country among the logs of wood. No one has yet 
pleaded guilty to having seen a phoenix, though for 
ages, a popular superstition attached to this fabulous 
bird. The imicom also continues to be placed among 
the apocryphal animals, with the great sea-serpent 
of the American coast. 

The bite of the tarentula spider was long said to 
produce involuntaiy dancing; simply because the 
persons bitten, on applying to the local practitioners of 
the heating art, were instantly ordered to dance the 
pizzica, the rapid Sicilian dance of the povinces 
where the tarentula abounds, in order to promote 
circulation and neutiulize the effects of the poison. 
Whole villages used ta assemble to witness the result, 
and whenever the patient expired of the bite of the 
reptile, he was said to have danced himself 
to death. Such is the origin of the Neapolitan 
superstition of the tarentula. 



R 2 



244 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



CONTENT AND COURTESY. 



The first ambition of mankind is to be happy. 
To the brute creation, and to man in a state of 
nature, happiness consists in sensual gratification. 
To this, succeeds the factitious happiness of civi- 
lization ; whence the origin of a variety of popular 
errors and prejudices. From the days of Horace 
to our own, people have been prone to envy those 
who pursue any career but their own. But if the 
soldier envy the position of the civilian, and vice 
versd, it is dear that the ambition of being 
what one is not, arises from the fact that every 
one is acquainted with the drawback on lus own 
profession, and only appreciates the advantages of 
that to which he does not belong. La Fontaine 
never imagined anything more true, or more 
charming, than the fable of the cobbler entreating 
the financier to restore him his song and peace- 
ul sleep, in exchange for the hundred crowns he 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 245 

had bestowed upon him. Every one has heard 
the Persian apologue of the Sophi, to whom, 
in a fit o^ acute suffering, the sole remedy pre- 
scribed was the shirt of a happy man ; a treasure 
difficult to discover either in Court or city; till 
at length a ragged wretch was found in the 
suburbs of Ispahan, who admitted himself to be 
perfectly happy ; but alas ! he had not a shirt 
to his back; and the cure of the Sophi was 
not more advanced than before. 

History has its lessons on this head as well as 
fiction. The Comte de Sdgur relates in his 
Memoirs, that previous to the Revolution, the 
Duke de Lauraguais wrote to him as follows : 

"Congratulate me, my dear S^gur. Thanks be 
to Heaven, I am completely ruined ! I have nothing 
left, but am delivered from the importunities of 
my creditors." 

Towards the termination of his career, this 
witty nobleman subsided into voluntary habits of 
simplicity, differing strangely fi'om his past splen- 
dours. Never, however, had he been happier ! — 
His peace of mind was from within ; superior to 
all incidents of birth, position, and fortune. 

It requires to have inhabited the various stories 
of the social edifice, to be able to judge man 
under the various aspects resulting from fortune 



246 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

and station. Happiness has little to do with 
either; fortune and misfortune have alike their 
evil influences. Covetousness is as insatiahle os 
ambition. In proportion as people scale the ladder 
of opulence, they discover others richer than 
themselves to excite their envy ; and vanity per* 
vades every rank of society, marring the quietude 
of the human mind. The laurels of Miltiades 
gave umbrage to. Themistocles ; and Caesar declared 
that he would rather be the first of a village, 
than second in Rome. A wiser man was the 
shepherd who said : " Were I a King, I would 
keep my sheep on horseback." 

The ceremonies of politeness, when carried to 
excess, are a source of public inconvenience. The 
custom of addressing a lady bare-headed, as was 
the case in France a century ago, when Louis 
XrV., even in a shower, refused to put on his 
hat in the presence of females, was the cause 
of many a serious indisposition. The custom of 
appearing bare-headed in church is also dangerous 
to many ; and, so far unreasonable, that men are 
unable to appear in hats, while it would be 
accounted singular for a woman to appear there 
without a bonnet. Can any reasonable motive 
be assigned for such a distinction ? 

Again, what is the origin of the ridicule attached 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 247 

to a p^-son who is left*handed ? It is dear that 
some are born with an instinctive facility in the 
use of the right hand — ^some of the left* Yet mothers 
punish their children for using the left hand, as 
an act of awkwardness. The preference given to 
the use of the right hand, though existing from the 
times of antiquity, is not the less ridiculous. 

In Holy Writ, the right hand is made an instrument 
of benediction ; which probably coq|jprred a superiority 
over the left. Theologians also contend that the 
Son of God sat on the right of the heavenly throne. 
The Romans conceded such superiority to the right 
hand, that when at table, they lay on the left side 
that the right hand might be free. Aristotle main- 
tained that the pre-eminence of the right hand pro- 
ceeded from the same conformation by which the 
cray-fish have the right claw larger than the left. 
Politeness in these days requires we should place 
the person we wish to distinguish, on the right. 
The indiscriminate use of both hands is the best 
lesson to teach a child : — ^indifference to the dis- 
tinction bestowed by the assignment of a place 
on either, the best lesson to be practised by 
adolescence. 

Parisians consider it a lesson of politeness to 
their young children to kiss their right hand before 
receiving any thing presented to them. The left 
hand is, however, devoted to the wedding-ring. 
This is not a Christian custom ; but prevailed among 



248 A WORLD OF WONDERS, 

the Assyrians, Medes, Egyptians, Babylonians/ and 
most of the people of antiquity. 

Many people object to uttering the word farewell 
in parting from a friend, influenced by a prejudice 
that a fatality attaches to the word. Whence 
the French mode of taking leave with ^^sans 
adieu /" 

The compliments formerly paid to a person 
sneezing are now^happily abandoned; having arisen 
in those early days of civilization when epidemics 
were so far more frequent and fatal than now. 
It was the custom, in most European countries, 
to say " God bless you,'* to the person who sneezed, 
lest it should be symptomatic of the commencement 
of an illness. 

Sneezing has been the object of a variety of ridi- 
culous prejudices. Aristotle pronoimces sneezing to 
be a gift from the Gods, and to be honoured as a 
thing of holiness, and a sign of good health. Hippo- 
crates agrees with Aristotle, and pronounces it a 
great relief to parturient women. The Rabbins 
assert that Adam sneezed after his fall ; and that in 
the primitive times, sneezing was a sure prognostic 
of death; and remained so tiU the patriarch Jacob 
obtained from God that it should no longer be the 
forerunner of dissolution. It is fortunate this change 
took place previous to the use of snuff ; or the snuff- 
box would have been accounted fatal as that of 
Pandora. 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 249 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE DIVINING ROD. 

The superstition of the divining rod prevailed 
only a century and a half ago. The following 
story concerning it, is too curious to be omitted. 
In the year 1692, a vintner of Lyons and his 
wife were murdered in their cellar, their assassins 
making away mth their money. M attempts to 
discover the culprits were vain, till a simple Dau- 
phinese peasant, named Jacques Aymar, boasted that, 
with the aid of a simple hazel twig, he could discern 
the assassins. Having visited the scene of the 
murder, rod in hand, it became agitated; and on 
following its indications till he reached the right 
bank of the Rhone, Aymar entered the house of 
a gardener, where three bottles stood on the table; 
when, lo ! the rod instantly intimated that the 
bottles had been emptied by the assassins ! Two 
children of the house owned that three ill-looking 
men had been there; on which Aymar began to 



250 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

obtain some credit. Traces of three men were found 
imprinted on the sand by the river-side; and, 
persuaded that they had embarked, Aymar followed 
them, inquiring as he proceeded, and detecting the 
spots where they had halted, to the astonishment of 
those who accompanied him. 

At the Sablon, the rod becoming agitated, Aymar 
annoimced that the assassins were evidently in the 
camp ; and his divining rod led him as far as the 
gate of the prison of Beaucaire ; which being opened, 
twelve of the fifteen prisoners confined were brought 
before him. But the divining rod was motionless 
till the approach of a certain humpbacked prisoner, 
who declared his utter ignorance of the crime com- 
mitted at Lyons. On the indications of the rod, how- 
ever, the hunchback being conducted to the gardener's 
house was recognised as having been one of the 
party. At length he confessed his guilt ; protesting, 
however, that he was an involuntary spectator, and 
did not participate in the mvu-der. Having furnished 
Aymar with information concerning the direction 
the assassins had taken, he traced their steps to 
an inn at Toulon, where they had dined the previous 
evening. On finding that the culprits had put 
to sea, he also embarked and followed the course 
of their boat to its landing-place. But on reaching 
the fi'ontier, all further trace of them was lost. 

This, wonderful story afforded a topic of discussion 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 251 

to the whole kingdom. So many persons bore 
testimony to the truth of the story, that it was 
impossible to doubt it; the more so, that Aymar 
followed it up with exploits equally wonderful. He 
detected several thieves, as well as the places where 
they had concealed their booty; and as a test of 
his powers, the lady of the chief officer of police 
possessed herself, by stealth, of the purse of one of 
her friends, and begged him to come to her and 
detect the thief. Aymar instantly declared that they 
were amusing themselves at his expense. 

The Prince de Conde, who, far from being supersti- 
tious, had greater faith in his Field-Marshal's baton 
than the divining rod, could not resist his cimosity 
to witness the feats of Aymar, and sent for him 
to Paris. As soon as he recovered the fatigues 
of his journey, he was conducted to a biu^au, 
from which something of considerable value had 
disappeared; but whether or not the magnificence 
of the place annihilated the power of the divining 
rod, the charm was gone ! Holes were dug in 
various parts of the garden, in which were deposited 
gold, copper, stones, and other substances. But 
the rod failed to point out the hidden treasure. 
In the interim, a pair of silver candlesticks having 
been stolen from Mademoiselle de Conde, Aymar's 
rod pointed out a goldsmith's shop, the master 
of which being accused, was highly indignant. 



258 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Thirty-six livres were forwarded, however, the following 
morning as the price of the objects; and it was 
supposed that Aymar had resorted to this expedient, 
with the view of re-establishing his reputation. But 
it was all in vain! The divining rod had lost its 
reputation, and Jacques Aymar was pronounced to 
be an impostor. 

At his own request, however, he accompanied 
the King's advocate to a street in which a murder 
had been committed; and the result being unsatis- 
factory, Aymar was considered either a mounte- 
bank, or a man following, with new pretensions, 
the old trade of recovering for reward the stolen 
goods, in the abstraction of which he had participated. 

Science becomes dangerous in the hands of em- 
pirics, as weapons in the hands of children. About 
forty years ago, a German doctor revived the marvels 
of the divining rod, grounding his system upon 
the phenomena of galvanism. But the philosophy 
of Volta disdained such an association. Pleasantly 
exposed to ridicule in the admirable pages of the 
antiquary, it is now estimated as on a par with 
the charm once supposed to be inherent in the 
rope by which a human being had suflfered the 
sentence of the law. It is still proverbial with the 
vulgar, that any singularly lucky person " carries 
a bit of hangman's rope in his pocket." 

Uninquiring incredulity is as great a proof of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 253 

weakness as over credulousness. The following 
instance of that incomprehensible foresight which 
flashes upon the brain of certain individuals, under 
the name of presentiment, passed imder the notice 
of Gratieti de S^mur. 

Madame de Saulce, the wife of a rich planter 
of St. Domingo, was residing in France about the 
time of the Revolution. Her husband occasionally 
visited his native country, leaving his lady at Paris, 
who was a woman of sense and piety, by no means 
of a nervous temperament. During the last voyage 
of her husband, being engaged at cards at an evening 
party, she suddenly uttered a shriek, and sunk on her 
chair, exclaiming, " Monsieur Saulce is dead !" Her 
friends crowding about her, attempted to tranquillize 
her by their remonstrances, till by degrees she 
recovered her reason. So powerful, however, had 
been the sensation or presentiment, that she had 
no peace till she obtained news of her husband. 

A favourable letter arrived ; but, alas ! the date 
was anterior to that of her vision. And soon after- 
wards, one of the friends present at the scene of 
Madame de Saulce's ejaculation, received a communi- 
cation from a stranger in St. Domingo, requesting 
him to communicate to that lady the distressing news 
of her husband's decease. Monsieiu" de Saulce had 
been assassinated by his negroes, on the very day 
and hour of her fatal presentiment. The event 



254 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

cxxnirred in the presence of at least twenty persons ; 
and till the day of her death, the widow remained 
a prey to sorrow mingled with awe and consterna- 
tion. 

In the Memoirs of the great Sully will he found 
the record of the presentiments of assasi^ation, 
which oppressed the mind of Henry IV. "The 
King/* says he, "had the strongest presentiment 
of his dreadful destiny. As the moment of his 
coronation approached, his alarm and consternation 
increased; and in answer to my remonstrance, he 
exclaimed : * In spite of all you can urge, this 
ceremony is most distasteful to me. My heart 
assures me that some misfortune will be the result.' 
Afler uttering these^desponding words, he sank back, 
overcome by gloomy anticipations; and remained 
tapping the case of his spectacles, absorbed in gloomy 
reverie." 

The presentiment of Henri IV. of his approaching 
assassination, is confirmed by the testimony of 
L'Etoile and Bassompierre, who, in their Memoirs, 
relate the same particulars ; and the fact is as 
historically established as the evil dream of Cal- 
phumia, and the denunciation of the soothsayer to 
Jidius Caesar, on a parallel occasion. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 255 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



BEES AND ANTS. 



Dull mmt be the blockhead, who could reproach 
La Fontaine with ignorance of Natural History, and 
pronounce the fable of the "Ant and the Grass- 
hopper" bad, because the fabulist has not shown 
himself a rigid naturalist. The great fault charged 
a^dnst La Fontaine, by the critics, is having made 
the grasshopper sing. Its cry is considered by most 
people far from melodious. 

The bee possesses a thousand poetical associations 
derived from our early conversancy with the Georgics. 
From the remotest periods of antiquity, bees have 
been recognised as attached to monarchical govern- 
ment, though not to the Salique law. A hive has 
been compared to the palace of a Czarina of 
Muscovy. 

The queen bee reigns over hundreds of male subjects 
with the despotism of a Sultan ; with the additional 
privilege of peopling her own dominions. When the 



256 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

queen is on the point of increasing her numerous 
subjects, the females invade the seraglio of their 
sovereign, and with their stings exterminate aU the 
male admirers of her majesty. The fecundity of 
a queen is such, that she can produce sixty thousand 
of her species annually. The males are easily recog- 
nized, being the sleekest and best formed of the 
hive; and afl its labours are carried on by them. 
To gather honey, and bring back every day to the 
common exchequer the fruits of the plunder, separate 
the honey from the wax, and with the latter con- 
struct their cell, distil the honey, and die, constitute 
the duties of the bee. 

It has been asserted that the queen bee has no 
stmg, which is an error. Another error prevafls, 
that after a bee has stung, it dies, leaving its sting 
in the wound. Some one probably crushed a bee, 
and found the sting in his finger, from which 
isolated fact a general conclusion has been made. 

Reaumur applied himself to the study of bees ; not, 
however, so devoutly as the philosopher, Aristoma- 
chus, who consecrated fifty-eight years to it; or the 
philosopher, Hytiscus, who conceived so great a 
passion for bees, that he retired into the Desart, 
the better to observe them. He simply cleared 
the way of errors, and discountenanced old 
traditions; but all was conjecture with regard to 
bees, til] the invention of glass hives; when the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 257 

government of those interesting insects became no 
longer a secret. The devotion of the working bees 
to their queen is now well-known. When in danger, 
or the hive is attacked, they rush to her aid; and 
even form a mass to conceal her, and die in her 
defence. 

Reaumur relates the following anecdote of which 
he was a witness. A queen bee, and some of her 
attendants were apparently drowned in a brook. 
He took them out of the water, and found that 
neither the queen bee, nor her attendants were quite 
dead. Reaumur exposed them to a gentle heat, 
by which they were revived. The plebeian bees 
recovered first. The moment they saw signs of' 
animation in their queen, they approached her, 
and bestowed upon her all the care in their power, 
licking and rubbing her ; and when the queen had 
acquired sufficient force to move, they hummed aloud, 
as if in triumph ! 

It has been thought that bees were prejudicial 
to the fructification of plants, by robbing them of 
their pollen. This is not only an error, but natura- 
lists worthy of faith, are of opinion that their 
movement in a blossom tends to sprinkle the pollen, 
and promote fecundity. 

Bees are of twofold service to the human race, 
by furnishing us with the most refined means 
of lighting our houses, and of brightening our 

s 



258 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

furniture; to say nothing of their aromatic honey, 
surpassing the sweetness of sugar. 

Little is known of the republics or monarchies of 
ants; or indeed of their precise form of govern- 
ment. - From the most remote period, however, 
it has been the custom to represent the ant 
as the symbol of industry. 

The industrioiis habits of the ant cannot be 
questioned; but their much vaunted foresight, as 
described by Boileau, and Addison's Spectator, is 
now recognized as fabulous. 

According to naturalists, the ant is not with- 
out a certain analogy with the bee; seeing that 
they have not one queen to each swarm, but a 
certain number of queens for the reproduction of 
the species; there being productive and unpro- 
ductive ants. The working class is of a neutral 
sex. The female ant deposits an egg, whence 
proceeds a worm, which becomes the ant. As 
architects, also, to ants must be assigned the 
precedence over bees; their cellular formations 
residting from instinct, and not from calculation. 
In the stupendous ant-hills so frequently seen 
in forests, what a series of galleries, dormitories, 
corridors, and magazines is contained; so that 
the numerous occupants find ample means of cir- 
culation. But the ant cannot pretend to the 
gratitude of man in the same degree as the bee. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 259 

The following is a curious and well-attested 
feet- After the death of the iflustriow Lagrange, 
Parseval Deschfines, his coadjutor in his scientific 
pursuits, who announced the coming of Pallas ten 
years previous to the discovery of that planet — 
renounced his mathematical researches; and from 
long habits of study acquired fresh occupation for 
his mind. 

While spending the summer with his friend, M. 
d'Aubusson de la Feuillade, in the course of one 
of his rambles in the woods, he found an im- 
mense ant-hill, and immediately resolved to make 
ants his study. He went every day early enough 
to the ant-hill to see the first ant issue forth; 
and followed it from the moment of its departure 
to that of its return. 

"About four o'clock in the afternoon," says he, 
"I saw my own particular ant arrive heavily 
laden at the foot of the diminutive mountain; 
and, finding it impossible to carry its burthen 
up the hill, deposit it and look around for 
a confederate. None being at hand, it set forth 
again; and about fifteen steps on its progress 
I saw my ant meet another equally loaded. Both 
halted, and seemed to hold council; after which, 
they proceeded together to the foot of the ant- 
hill. Then began the most interesting scene I 
ever witnessed. The second ant disembarrassed 

s 2 




260 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

itself of its burthen; and, having provided them- 
selves with a blade of grass, they slipped it under 
the overweighted load, and, by their united eflforts, 
conveyed it over the hillock, and entered their 
respective cells ! 

''After abandoning the study of mathematics as 
too abstruse," observes Parseval, " I found the lever 
of Archimedes in use in an ant-hill." 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 261 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

PREPOSSESSIONS AND ANTIPATHIES. 

Undue prepossession against or in favour of some 
object, is as much to be guarded against as any 
other irrational prejudices. 

It is not uncommon to hear people reply when 
some particular dish is offered to them: "Thank 
you, I have never eaten any, and nothing could 
persuade me to touch it." Such a prepossession 
scarcely would be pardonable in women or chil- 
dren. 

An anecdote is related in the life of Tahna, 
which has lately formed the subject of a drama. 

A poor strolling player, universally rejected, 
arrived, at his wits' end, in a city where the illus- 
trious actor was expected. A bright idea flashed 
across his mind to personate Talma; as whom he 
accordingly announced himself. The authorities of 
the town hastened to offer him their homage. The 
theatre was crowded, and all the world enraptured 



262 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

with his performanoe. In the midst of his popii- 
larity, the real Talma arrived; but foreseeing that 
a prepossession once established in favoiu* of the 
imitator was not likely to be easily reversed, departed 
without making himself known. The chances were 
that he might have been hissed. 

It is difficult to comprehend the use of the flatteries 
of psdnters to Princes and Princesses about to be 
married by proxy. The portraits being exchanged, 
the betrothed receive a first strong impression, and 
form thdr opinicms accordingly. A favourable pre- 
possession is conceived ; and in place of an agreeable 
and expressive countenance, a frightful reality is 
often rendered more frightful by disappointment. 

With regard to literary predilections, the works 
of an unknown author, however meritorious, often 
lie mildewed on the shelf, while some trash, pro- 
tected by a favourite name, becomes popular* The 
admirable leading articles of Benjamin Constant 
produced no eflfect till he signed them with his 
well-known name, when their merit was instantly 
recognised. When Michael Angelo first exhibited 
the productions of his chisel, they were treated as 
far inferior to the sculptures of the ancient world. 
In the seclusion of his studio, and unknown 
to any one, he accordingly set to work on a 
statue of Cupid; of which he broke off the arm, 
and concealed the mutilated statue in the midst of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 263 

the excavations making by the Pope. When the 
statue was discovered, all Rome fell into ecstasies; 
pronouncing it to be the work of Phidias or 
Praxiteles. Michael Angelo immediately produced 
the mutilated arm, and his former critics became 
rebuked into silence. 

At the time when the rage for Italian music ex- 
cluded every other composition from the stage, and 
the great French composers had fallen in public 
estimation, Mdhul avenged himself much in the 
manner of Michael Angelo. Zealous in the cause of 
French music, he composed the opera of the Irato, the 
words by the ingenious Hoffmann ; who, to render the 
illusion complete, made the libretto as incomprehen- 
sible as possible. The opera was rehearsed in secret, 
though fifty persons were engaged in it ; and it was 
circulated in the world, that the forthcoming opera was 
a mere pasticcio, borrowed from the operas rec^itly in 
vogue in Italy. 

When the curtain rose, the ov«i;ure was entliu- 
siastically applauded. Still more so, the different airs 
executed by EUevion, Martin, and the excellent com- 
pany of the Comic Opera. The theafcre was crowded 
with enthusiastic admirers of Italian music, whose 
applause was veh^nent; one person declaring that 
the music was by Fioravanti, and that he had heard 
it at Naples ; anoth^, that it was by Cimarosa. At 
the end of the opera, it was aimounced to be by 



264 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

M^ul, when the amateurs of the Italian school were 
confounded. 

Teniers also exposed the unjust prejudices of his 
countrymen; who, underrating his paintings, they sold 
far short of their value. Having previously published 
a report of his death and burial, he instructed his 
wife to assume widow's weeds ; and, after a certain 
time, to announce the sale of the paintings of her 
deceased husband. The stratagem succeeded, his 
very detractors enhancing the value of his works. 
Teniers afterwards returned to his native country, and 
resiuned his labours, which were never afterwards 
disparaged. 

When a History of France by Pigault Le Brun 
was announced, it was pronounced to be detestable 
long before it appeared; solely because Rgault Lebrun 
was the author of a variety of amusing novels. The 
famous physician Portal turned to good account the 
prejudice that prevails in Paris in favour of fashion. 
Established in the capital, he was some time without 
obtaining practice. At length, he devoted all his 
means to the purchase of a beautiful equipage, and 
sent it every day to stand before the doors of illus- 
trious patients. Of course the numerous inquirers 
after the invalid, could not fail to remark the beautiful 
equipage of the physician in every quarter of the 
town ; and the Marchioness immediately determined 
to try the physician of the Duchess, and vice versd ; 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 265 

till in a short time, Portal received applications from 
all quarters, calling in his advice to the noblest 
sufferers of the capital. Endowed with a distinguished 
appearance, elegant manners, and considerable powers 
of conversation, he became the indispensable attend- 
ant of all fashionable invalids ; and thusf founded a 
reputation to which he subsequently proved himself 
entitled. 



266 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE INFLUENCE OF BELLS UPON THUNDER STORMS. 

Science has long demonstrated the foUy of ringing 
church bells during a storm. The vibration of the 
air, produced by the movement of a bell, was formerly 
supposed to disperse the fluid ; which, on the contrary, 
it attracts. For these fifty years past, the civic 
authorities have compelled the bell-ringers to be silent 
during a storm. In former ages, when the priests 
caused the bells to be rung during a storm, it was an 
act of piety and not a physical experiment. Scientific 
men, on the contrary, have been justified in declaring 
the vibration caused by the sound of a church bell 
upon a cloud charged with electricity to be injurious, 
from the fact that ringers have been struck dead by 
the electric fluid during the discharge of their 
functions. But though bells are no longer rung 
during a storm, the fluid falls just as often upon 
church steeples. It is, however, as well to forbid the 
ringing of bells during a storm, for the simple reason 






A WORLD OF WONDERS. 267 

that to ring the bells, the ringer must be in the 
tower, where he is in greater danger than dsewhere. 
Steeples are often surmounted by an iron cross, or 
weathercock, which attracts the fluid. 

It is only lately we have made any proficiency in 
dtectrical science. Franklin, who at the same moment 
Iwought fire from heaven and wrested the sceptre 
from the potentates of the earth, was the inventor of 
the conductor, which has probably preserved many 
monuments from destruction. In the reign of 
Louis XIV, saflors were in the habit of affixing a 
pointed sword to the summit of the mast, most likely 
acting under the experience and impression which 
produced the conductor. A learned priest, the Abb^ 
Thiers, who died in 1 703, in enmnerating the supa*- 
stitious practices of his time, mentions the custom of 
affixing a pointed sword to a mast dining storms. 
The good old priest saw in it only a kind of super- 
stition ; while the discovery of Franklin commanded 
the admiration of the world. It is not unlikely that 
from the bosom of vulgar superstitions, science might 
extract many a valuable discovery. 

In a late number of the Almanack of the Board 
of Longitude, Monsieur Arago published a curious 
theory upon thunder, citing many interesting fects ; 
the only means of conferring popularity on knowledge, 
which, in its severer garb, is too often banished to 
the lecture-room. The influence of storms upon 



268 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

animate as wdH as inanimate bodies, is incontestable ; 
for which of us has not fdt or witnessed the eflfects ? 
Previous to the approach of the storm, the depression 
of the air is perceptible upon our limbs and spirits ; 
and on beholding the dejected, languid, and uneasy 
demeanour of the animal species, it might be 
supposed that so powerful a sensation would be more 
oppressive to ourselves, were it not restrained by 
reason. A smular sensation is experienced in a far 
higher degree, previous to the shock of an earth- 
quake. 

With the first drops of rain of a thunder storm, 
however, we experience relief. Both animal and 
vegetable substances become decomposed during a 
storm. Objects formed of goat or sheep-skin give 
out a nauseous smell. White paper and other 
substances have been known to become covered with 
spots of various hues. Oxen killed by lightning are 
unfit for use, so nauseous and black is the flesh. 
Dairy-maids place a nail under the vessels containing 
the milk, to prevent it turning, as well as under a 
hen which is sitting. Remote approaches towards 
the conductor ! 

Of the phenomena which signalize storms, nothing 
is more remarkable than the repugnance of the 
electric fluid for silk. The steel ornaments of a purse 
have been known to become twisted by the fluid, 
while the silk remained uninjured. A covering of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 269 

silk is accordingly the surest preservative. But it 
is a curious fact that to none of the insect species is 
a thunder-storm more fatal than to the silk-worm ; 
as the silk-growers know to their cost. 

The protective power of the laiu^l is now known 
to be fabulous; the laurel tree being as much a 
conductor as any other. 



270 A WOIOiD OF WONDER& 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

SMALL POX AND VACCINATION. 

If any thing could excuse the exercise of arbitrary 
power on the part of a Government, it would surely 
be in the act of compelling parents to vaccinate their 
children; but the aversion to vaccination being still 
only too common among certain classes of the people. 
Yet surely the law which punishes parents for ill- 
usage of their children, might be extended to punish 
their leaving these helpless creatures exposed to 
the infection of pain and disfigurement? Jenner is 
decidedly one of the greatest benefactors of the hiunan 
race; for the vast increase of population in the 
different countries of Europe is ascribed, by many 
political economists, to the safeguard of vaccination, 
which has preserved more lives since its introduction, 
than the terrible wars of the present century have 
destroyed. 

In England, this admirable discovery was far more 
readily adopted than in France; where, however 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 271 

versatile in fashions and governments, any improve- 
ment tending to benefit the human race is slowly and 
cautiously accepted. In the reign of Louis XIV, the 
introduction of yeast in the making of bread met 
with general opposition; and it required the inter- 
ference of the legislature to secure its adoption. The 
introduction of bark and emetics was also attended 
with violent opposition; and inoculation introduced 
from Turkey into Western Europe by Lady Mary 
Wortley Montague, found great difficulty in estab- 
lishing itself in France. 

It was not, however, surprising that pM^ents should 
hesitate about giving their children a loathsome 
disease ; before it became certified by long experience 
that the virulence of the disorder was considerably 
lessened by preparation; so as to secure a mother 
agamst the terrible self-reproaches arising from the 
loss of a child under the inoculated malady. 

In England, more particularly in the county of 
Gloucester, from time immemorial cows were subject 
to a contagious disease, which infected the hands of 
the milkmaids, who were observed never to suffer 
from the small-pox. This surmise being confirmed 
by experiment. Dr. Jenner established himself in the 
county of Gloucester; where, by inoculating people 
with vaccine matter, he secured them against the 
small-pox. 

So far from turning his discovery to pecuniary 



272 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

account, as most others woxild have done, Jenner 
nobly proclaimed it to mankind, calling upon all 
philantrophists to share his triumph. 

The Duke de Rochefauld-Liancourt having wit- 
nessed the effects of vaccination in England, intro- 
duced it into France, and did more for its propagation 
than the slow deliberations of the Parisian Schools 
of Medicine. Dr. Pinel, however, tried experiments 
at the Hospital of the Salp^tri^re, with perfect 
success ; while Dr. Aubert was despatched by 
Government to England to report upon the subject. 
The result was favourable. Matter was imported 
from England in the month of May, 1800, when 
thirty-eight children were vaccinated at the Hos- 
pital of La Piti^; and commissions were instantly 
instituted throughout France. Jenner had, however, 
his opponents. In London, it was denounced from 
the pulpit, as an infringement on the dispensation of 
Providence ; and in France, DoctcM^ Vaume, Chapon 
and others pronounced vaccination to be injurious to 
the human constitution, and capable of reducing man 
to the condition of a brute, by the introduction of 
animal virus into the blood. As if we resembled a 
calf or sheep the more for having swallowed a mutton 
chop or Veal cutlet. 

With a few rare exceptions, vaccination has proved 
a security against the small-pox, and the practice 
ought consequently to become universal. But old 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 273 

women are still to be found with instances of children 
who have died of convulsions after vaccination ; as if 
that were the origin of their iUness and death. 

Among the lower orders, a prejudice prevails 
that an inferior kind of vaccine matter is provided 
for them; and whenever their children exhibit 
symptoms of disease or deformity, they comfort 
their self-love by attributing it to the influence of 
vaccination. "Such maladies were unknown in 
their families, till the madness of introducing matter 
from the body of a stranger into that of their child 
conveyed also the germs of disease." 



274 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XL. 

PRECOCIOUS AND CLEVER CHILDREN. 

It is a common observation respecting chfldren, 
"that such or such a child is too clever to live;" 
and though abundance of precocious children have 
grown up, and into very ordinary men, it stands 
to reason that the premature development of any 
particular quality in an extraordinary degree, must 
exhaust the subject upon whom it operates. Gar- 
deners ,thin the superfluous shoots on trees, that 
those remaining may attain their perfect growth. 
It would be difficult, perhaps, to pursue this system 
with children who manifest supematurally pre- 
cocious capacities. But when such cases present 
themselves, the vanity of parents often serves to 
forward an evil result. The parents of children 
of genius usually stimulate instead of checking the 
impulses requiring restraint; thus increasing the 
already existing exhaustion. Proud of their infantine 
prodigy, which, in humble life, becomes the object 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 275 

of some abominable speculation, nothing can be 
more lamentable than the exhibition of these inte- 
resting little beings, carried about from place to 
place, obtaining a notoriety of the most injurious 
nature, and often let out for hire to some able 
speculator. The exhibitionist, bent upon realising 
the largest profit in the shortest time, and, reckless 
as to the source, having attained his end, cares 
not whether the child perish in misery; and the 
laws, so severe upon the poor hucksters in our 
streets, unprovided with a licence, sanction these 
homicidal speculations ! 

Baillet mentions one hundred and sixty-three 
chfldren endowed with extraordinaiy talents, among 
whom few arrived at an advanced age. The two 
sons of Quintilian, so vaunted by their father, did not 
reach their tenth year. Hermogenes, who at the 
age of fifteen, taught rhetoric* to Marcus Aurelius, 
who triumphed over the most celebrated rhetoricians 
of Greece, did not die, but at twenty-four, lost his 
faculties and forgot all he had previously acquired. 
Pica di Mirandola died at thirty-two ; Johannes 
Secimdus at twenty-five ; having at the age of fifteen 
composed admirable Greek and Latin verses, and 
become profoundly versed in jurisprudence and letters. 
Pascal, whose genius developed itself at ten years old, 
did not attain the third of a century. 

In 1791, a child was bom at Lubeck, named 

T 2 



276 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Henri Heineketn, whose precocity was miraculous. 
At ten. months of age, he spoke distinctly; at twelve, 
learnt the Penta;teuch by rote, and at foiuteen 
months, was perfectly acquainted with the Old and 
New Testaments. At two years of age, he was as 
familiar with Ancient History as the most erudite 
authors of antiquity. Sanson and Danvifle only 
could compete with him in geographical knowledge ; 
Cicero would have thought him an ."alter ego," 
on hearing him converse in Latin; and in modem 
languages, he was equally proficient. This wonderful 
child was unfortunately carried oflf in his fourth 
year. According to a popular proverb — " the sword 
wore out the sheath.'* 

The American family of the Davisons, whose 
Memoirs have been recently before the public, afford 
two melancholy instances in point. Nevertheless, 
the duty of every created being is to give the most 
ample development to the predispositions conferred 
on him by his Creator ; and this is certainly to be 
accomplished without injury to the human frame. 
The mission of woman is the perpetuation of the 
human race ; and the statistical table of all countries 
demonstrate that fruitful women have been remark- 
able for their longevity. On the other hand, the 
tables of Blair and others prove that unmarried 
women, whether spinsters or nuns, are shorter 
Kved than matrons. As regards the influence of an 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 277 

excessive exercise of the inteflect on the life of man, 
we can quote many instances of longevity among the 
most eminent of ancient or modern times. 

Hippocrates, the greatest physician the world 
has ever seen, died at the age of one hxmdred and 
nine, in the island of Cos, his native country. Galen, 
the most illustrious of his successors, reached the 
age of one hundred and four. • The three sages 
of Greece, Solon, Thales, and Pittacus, lived for a 
century. The gay Democritus outlived them by 
two years. Zeno wanted only two years of a century 
when he died. Diogenes ten years more ; and Plato 
died at the age of ninety-four, when the eagle of 
Jupiter is said to have borne his soul to Heaven. 
Xenophon, the illustrious warrior and historian, lived 
ninety years. Polemon and Epicharmus ninety- 
seven; Lycurgus eighty-five; Sophocles more than 
a hundred. Gorgias entered his hundred and eighth 
year ; and Asdepiades, the physician, lived a century 
and a half. Juvenal lived a hundred years ; Pacuvius 
and Varro but one year less. Cameades died 
at ninety ; Galileo at sixty-eight ; Cassini at 
ninety-eight; and Newton at eighty-five. In the 
last century, Fontenelle expired in his ninety-ninth 
year; Buffon in his eighty-first; Voltaire in his 
eighty-fourth. In the present century. Prince 
Talleyrand, Goethe, Rogers, and Niemcewicz are 
remarkable instances. The Cardinal du Belloy lived 



278 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

nearly a century ; and Marshal Moncey lately termi- 
nated a glorious career at eighty-five. 

Voltaire, though not a juvenile prodigy, was ' still 
young when he achieved his brilliant reputation. 
At seventeen, he wrote the poem of La ligue, which 
afterwards became the Henriade; and at nmeteen, 
produced the tragedy of (Edipus. His constitution 
was then far from strong; and his correspondence 
attests his frequent sufferings. No man, perhaps, 
ever made a larger demand on his faculties. Yet 
his head may be said to have survived the other 
members of his body, the extremities of which were 
long insensible ; his body reduced to a skeleton, his 
stomach rejecting all sustenance, while to the last 
moment, his spirit gave proofs of wit and genius. 
Among the precocious children who survived to 
maturity, though of weakly health, were Alexander 
Pope and Dr. Johnson, both of whom may be said 
to have " lisped in numbers." 

Liceti, the son of a Genoese physician, came into 
the world only a few inches long, and it was 
thought impossible he could live. His fether, how- 
ever, gave him the name of Fortunio, a singular 
selection, considering the circumstances of the event, 
and placed him in an oven of even temperature, 
under the care of an attentive nurse; and in the 
course of a few months, Fortxmio Liceti differed 
in nothing from children born in the usual manner. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 279 

The early years of this child passed much as 
that of others, except that he evinced signs of 
superior intelligence. At nineteen, he wrote a 
"Treatise on the Soul;" and in the course of a 
life of seventy-nine years, embellished the literature 
of his country with eighty works, bearing the stamp 
of great erudition. 

Marshal Richelieu was a child of xmtimely birth ; 
and so delicate in frame, as to be considered 
impossible to rear, though carefully wrapped in 
cotton. Yet he lived to the age of eighty-five! 
Without intending to set up Richelieu as a first- 
rate man, or defend his licentiousness, we cannot 
deny him a prominent place among the distinguished 
Frenchmen of the last century ; being as much the 
representative of the tone and manners of the great 
world, as Voltaire of the wit, or Mirabeau of the 
eloquence of the country. 



280 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XLI. 



EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 



Neither the illustrious preceptor of Alexander, 
nor the amiable preceptor of the Duke of Bur- 
gundy, nor all the professors of the universities 
of England and France, ever eflfected so much in 
the way of education, as that unrecognised presi- 
dent »of all universities and public schools — 
Example! — From the hour of their birth, children 
begin to imitate. Their first words are mimicries 
of what they hear pronounced before them. Hence 
the origin of different idioms and enunciations. 
Montaigne made Latin the mother tongue of his 
son, by surrounding him with persons who spoke 
no other language, and even a nurse who spoke 
Latin. 

The intellect of children expands long before they 
have the power of expressing their ideas. Phy- 
sicians have affirmed that children have been known 
to die of jealousy, before they were old enough to 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 281 

express their sensations. Excessive notice of another 
child, or seeming neglect of themselves, has been 
found to induce a state of languor, and hasten their 
end. Young children suffer doubly in illness, from 
the inanability of expressing Iheir pain. 

Their Iw being formed upon onr o™, 
and their conduct framed upon our own, the duty 
of placing desirable examples before them is suffi- 
dently evident; yet we frequently punish them 
for faults of which the first lesson was given by 
ourselves. In many conditions of life, however, 
parents are forced to delegate to other hands the 
care of their progeny. The labouring poor, for 
instance, cannot constantly watch over them. While 
the rich wantonly confide their infants to the care 
of menial hands, the poor trust them to any which 
God is pleased to send to their aid. It is even 
more essential to avoid giving bad examples to 
children than to offer them good. Yet how often 
are family dissensions and recriminations exposed to 
their observation ! A man and wife living ill 
together, who so far forget themselves as to quarrel 
before their children, create a preference and partizan- 
ship which must diminish the respect equally due 
to both parents. In humbler life, abusive language 
often ends with blows ; and what must be the effect 
of such scenes on the tender mind of infancy ? 

The presence of children on such occasions, when 



282 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

proved before the magistracy, ought to be considered 
an aggravation of the. offence against the law. 
Fathers and mothers by upbraiding each other in 
presence of their children, often beget impressions 
which all their future representations are unable to 
eradicate; and of what avail to the comfort of 
parents the brilliant accomplishments and attractive 
manners of their children, if a son have been taught 
to disparage his father, or a daughter to think ill ol 
her mother! Often do children so young as to 
appear deficient in observation, receive vague but 
indelible impressions, afterwards recalled by a retro- 
spective view ; when the past appears dear and fi-ee 
firom the vapours which veiled it from our earlier 
comprehension* 

Among the lower orders, if a poor man be laborious, 
his son is usually the same. But the son of a father 
who ill-uses the mother, is pretty sure to turn out 
an idler and a dunce in childhood, and, in riper 
years, a ruffian. 



i 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 283 



CHAPTER XLII. 

PREJUDICES OP THE PRENCH. 

The prevailing weakness of the French, collec- 
tively and individually, is to esteem themselves the 
type and model of perfection ; the standard hy 
which the universe ought to be regulated. An 
Italian author once asserted that the face of man 
was not made after that of God ; but that the face 
of the Creator was to be imagined after that of man. 
The French consider all that resembles them, right : 
all that diflfers from them, wrong. This prejudice 
entitles foreigners to laugh at them, whether justly 
or not. The word "/a<" appears to have been 
exclusively invented for the nation. Vain, pre- 
sumptuous, haughty, disdainful men are to be 
found in all countries ; but fatuite is the peculiar 
attribute of Frenchmen ; nor does any other language 
possess an equivalent term. 

The French, unhesitatingly, pronounce themselves 
the most polished nation of the universe; and Paris, the 



284 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

capital of the ravilized world, — the city of arts, sciences, 
elegance of manners, and refinement. Id Paris only, 
does genius receive due homage, — merit, encourage- 
ment, — or the mind its lull development. But the 
temple they have erected to their national vanity, 
has begun to totter upon its flimsy foimdation. 

Notwithstanding their assumed pre-eminence, no 
nation is more prone to imitate the customs, usages, 
fashions, and forms of government of others. Just 
as the Romans placed the Gods of their defeated 
enemies in their Pantheon, the French, under Napo- 
leon, brought back the customs of foreign nations. 

For twelve centuries, the French possessed a system 
of government of their own; but they decided, at 
length, to adopt that of the Enghsh. A Revolu- 
tion having occurred in England, and a King been 
beheaded in London, an analogous event appeared 
indispensable ; and a King of France, consequently, 
ended his reign on the scaffold. In early times, one 
legislative chamber was considered sufficient ; but as 
there existed two in England, their national vanity 
could not rest till gratified by a similar number. In all 
this, there is little to support the vaunted superiority 
of the French. 

Till the dose of the last century, the French wore 

— ^-^ " still termed, on the continent, the French 

, or habit Fran^ais, with bags and swords, 

a England we call a court-dress. But the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 285 

English having laid aside these inconvenient appen- 
dages in favour of hunting and riding coats, the 
latter were quickly adopted by the Parisians under 
the name of redingotte. 

The Lord Cadogan of Marlborough's time, having 
found it convenient to double up his queue, and bind 
it with a bow of black ribbon, the whole French army 
adopted the fashion ; and his Lordship's name became 
immortalized in France by " les perruques a la 
Cadogan.** 

The strong horses of Normandy required an easy 
but somewhat solid kind of saddle, the form of 
which had prevailed from the time of Louis XIV. 
But the English using a lighter and smaller kind, 
it was adopted in preference; and certain moral 
philosophers who proceeded to England to study the 
laws, maimers, and system of govenmient, having 
remarked in addition that the English treated their 
horses as Alcibiades did his dog, the horses on the 
other side the channel were forthwith anglicised by 
the abbreviation of their tails. 

On the arrival of the Boiu-bons and the English 
in France, in 1814, the long waists and cottage- 
bonnets of the ladies were made the groimd-work of 
innumerable caricatures. Yet a few years afterwards, 
generally they were adopted ! This Anglomania has 
been as much a matter of reproach to the French for 
centuries past ; as, in England, the preference of the 



286 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

English ladies for French goods and manufactures. 
A serious source of discussion between Napoleon and 
Josephine was her rage for English fashions. 

In the early part of the Revolution, the Duke 
t)f Orleans made frequent excursions to England; 
in one of which he purchased a sword hilt of 
steel, the execution of which was admirable. On 
his return to Paris, he exhibited it to a celebrated 
steel worker, challenging him to produce its equal ; 
on which, taking up the hilt, the man pointed out 
his own name to the Prince, as the manufacturer 
of the article, which had been exported to London. 

During the brilliant campaigns of Field-Marshal 
Suwarow, the form of his hat and boots was 
copied by the military men of France; and when 
Bolivar and Murillo were ascertained to wear hats 
of different dimensions, the French partizans of the 
two chiefs assumed on one part, broad-brimmed 
Spanish hats, on the other, a narrower shape. 

When the Russians came to Paris at the Restora- 
tion, another change took place. Instead of the boots 
worn to protect the legs from the mud, the wide 
trowsers of the Russians made to cover their boots, 
in consideration of the bitterness of their climate, 
were inatantly adopted by the nation which pro- 
noimces itself ^the arbiter of Europe in matters of 
taste. The padded chests of the Russian uniforms, 
also worn as a defence against the weather, 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 287 

were imitated in defiance of climate and common 
sense. 

Previous to the arriyal of the Russians in Paris> 
smoking was limited to the operative classes, and 
soldiers who had fought in the German cam- 
paign. But from the moment the Russians began 
to smoke in the open street, the capital so famed 
for elegance, became polluted with the smell of 
tobacco. A modem man of fashion can no more 
dispense with his cigar-case than Bayard with his 
sword ; and in imitation of the Spanish women, the 
fiishionable Parisian ladies, known by the name of 
lionneSy have taken to smoking. 

In order to mark their estimation of the Swedes, 
when they elected to be their Prince, Bemadotte, who 
is a Frenchman, they thought to do them the highest 
honour by calling them the French of the north. Two 
noblemen, the one an aide-de-camp of Napoleon, the 
other of the Emperor Alexander, having made 
acquaintance at Tilsit, the former observed, with 
the intention of paying a compliment : " You might 
really be taken for a Frenchman !'* to which 
the Russian, indignant at his rudeness, repUed: 
"Depend upon it you could never pass /or a Russian!" 

It is a favourite vaunt of the braggarts of France, 
that their children are bom soldiers. " Stamp upon 
the soU of France, and myriads of warriors will start 
up r says one of their popular writers. 



288 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

. In answer to this boast^ observe the results 
of the drawing for the conscription, when the 
most trifling bodily defects are put forth to secure 
exemption from mDitary service! — ^Nothing can 
exceed the despair of those who draw what is 
called "a bad number;" though a military career 
presents nearly the same advantages to a working 
man as any other to which he may devote him- 
self. 

The self-sufBciency of the nation stands perpetually 
self-convicted ; and it is now proverbial in Europe to 
" be as great a boaster as a Frenchman." 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 289 



CHAPTER XLIII. 



MONSTROUS BIRTHS. 



The attachment existing betwixt animals of 
different kinds is an undoubted fact. Dogs have 
been known to take kittens imder their protection 
during the absence, or after the death of the parent 
cat. Most people who have been at the Jardin des 
Plantes, must have noticed the affection evinced by 
the lion for the little dog that shares his cage. Two 
horses and an ass having fed from the same rack 
during a period of fourteen years, on the death of 
the ass, his two companions refused food and died. 
These inclinations are probably the result of the 
familiarity with mankind produced by domestication, 
which destroys their natural instincts. 

Parrots, starlings, jays, and magpies, do not talk 
in their wild state ; nor would a dog, or squirrel, of 
its free will, have turned a wheel. 

In a Norman farm, so singular an affection 

u 



290 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

subsisted between a hen and a cat attached to the 
barn-yard, that the cat was frequently seen sitting 
upon the nest during the absence of her friend ; 
and the eggs thus hatched produced a hybrid race 
of fowl and cat — a faxA certified by an eminent 
Norman naturalist, Dr. Yimond, at the close of the 
last century. Towards the beginning of the present, 
there was exhibited in the Rue St. Honor^, a mastiff 
bitch having a litter of two puppies and two 
cats, which she had brought into the world at a 
birth. 

The ancients frequently speak of monstrous 
progeny. Besides the famous Minotaur of Crete, 
Fliny relates that a Roman lady, named Alcippa, 
produced a young elephant, and that a female slave 
brought forth a serpent. Julius Ob^uens describes 
two Italian women, who, in the middle of the fifteenth 
century, produced on the same day, the one a cat, 
the other a dog. In such instances, dogs and cats 
seem to enjoy the preference. A Swiss woman, 
however, is asserted to have produced a hare; a 
Thiuingian, a toad. Bayle speaks of a mare which 
produced a calf; and of a woman, who became 
the mother of a black cat, which was burnt by 
command of the Holy Inquisition in the belief 
that it was the offspring of the devil. These 
marvels have been chiefly attested by monks and 
physicians ; but there is scarcely an instance in which 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 291 

any distinguished naturalist has been able to confirm 
the fact. 

During the thirteenth century, in three different 
places, at Wittenberg, Misnia, and ViUefi'anche, 
children were bom without heads. They died upon 
coming into the world; but not without having 
exhibited symptoms of life. 

Carpi, the anatomist, mentions a child bom in 
1729, in whose head, was found nothing but clear 
water without a vestige of brain. On the other 
hand, children have come into the world with a 
double volume of brain. In 1684, a woman gave 
birth to twins, of which the first-bom survived only 
a few hours, while the second exhibited a double 
head, having four eyes, two noses, two tongues, but 
only two ears. 

The annals of anatomy fiimish many such in- 
stances; and the cases of the Siamese twins, and 
of the unfortunate sisters of Sgony, are too weU 
known to need description. But if all the instances 
on record were recapitulated, these blunders of nature 
are but as a grain of sand compared with the 
regularity of her productions through an infinity of 
ages. 

The idea of individuals having a double sex, 
created probably by Plato in the fable of the 
Androgyne, the most ingenious fiction bequeathed 
to us by antiquity, was for ages supposed to have 
its foundation in fact ; and every now smd then, 

u 2 



292 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

. the irr^ularities of a Chevalier d'Eon revive the 
chimera, to which anatomists oppose a decided nega- 
tive. The beautiful statue of the Florentine herma- 
phrodite at the Louvre is as much a chimerical being 
as a sphinx. 

The Memoirs of the Chevalier d'Eon, published 
in America, declare one of the most illustrious 
dynasties of modem Europe to be his descendents ; 
an assertion easily disproved by a comparison of the 
date of his visit to Russia with that of the birth 
of the Emperor PauL 

The Albinos were formerly considered a distinct 
race. They were sought in the olden time as fa- 
vourite appendages to the Courts of African and 
Asiatic monarchs. Pliny places them in Albania, 
probably from the similitude of name ; but does not 
state that they constituted a nation. His descrip- 
tion of them, however, perfectly agrees with those 
of modem times; having white hair, and eyes 
which he describes as resembling those of a par- 
tridge. The Albinos are, in tmth, an exceptional 
race ; and their peculiarities are seldom found to be 
hereditary. 

The morbid longings of women during pregnancy 
afford many remarkable facts. Groulard relates, 
that in the neighbourhood of Andemach, on the 
Rhine, a woman experienced such a longing for 
the flesh of her husband, that she murdered him, 
ate one half of the body and salted the other; 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 293 

when her appetite being appeased, she confessed the 
deed to two friends of her husband. 

In the Helvetic Chronicles it is related, that in 
the time of Martin IV., an illustrious lady of Rome, 
an object of affection to the supreme head of the 
Chiu*ch, gave birth to a son having the semblance 
of a wild beast ; which monstrous production was 
ascribed to the passion of his Holiness for paintings 
of animals, niunbers of which ornamented his palace, 
till the continual view of such objects influenced the 
mind and body of his fair inmate. 

A black child is generally believed to have been 
bom to Marie Thdrfese, the wife of Louis XIV.> 
in consequence of a Uttle negro page in her service 
having started from a hiding-place, and stumbled 
over her dress early in her pregnancy. This child 
was educated at the Convent of Moret, near Fon- 
tainebleau, where she took the veil, and where, till 
the epoch of the Revolution, her portrait was shown. 

Mallebranche has assigned the greatest scope of 
imagination to women imder such circumstances. 
He mentions one, who having been present at the 
breaking of a criminal on the wheel, gave birth 
to a child whose limbs were broken at the exact 
places where those of the criminal were fi'actured. 
Scarcely an anatomical museum but contains mon- . 
strous productions. The question unsolved is the 
influence of the imagination of the mother in pro- 
ducing these aberrations of nature. 



294 A WORIiD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

THE ICHNEUMON AND THE HALCYON. 

BuFFON assumes that the Ichneumon has been 
brought to a state of domesticity. But he probably 
generalized from a single instance. The Pacha of 
Egypt has a tame lion; and many other instances 
might be cited. But the lion cannot be regarded 
as reduced to a domestic animal. 

According to Pliny, the ichneumon was an object 
of veneration among the Egyptians. So also was 
the crocodile; these two determined enemies being 
equally objects of adoration. By the ancients, the 
ichneumon was said to watch the moment of the 
crocodile's sleep ; when, finding the monster's jaws 
open, it instantly crept in, and having devoured 
the bowels, made its way out by the way it 
entered. 

Denon has given us the following account of 
the ichneumon in his Travels in Egypt. 

^'The ichneumon is seen lying upon the reeds 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 295 

of the Nile, in the neighbourhood of the villages, 
to which it repairs m search of poultry and eggs. 
The supposed antagonism of the ichneumon and 
crocodile, the one eating the eggs of the other, 
and the former creeping down the throat of the 
latter, is piu*e invention. These two animals do 
not dwell in the same regions. Crocodiles are not 
known in Lower, nor ichneumons in Upper Egypt; 
so that there can be no grounds for the prejudice 
which has existed twenty centuries: — for Pliny, 
himself, probably handed down a tradition ! 

The fable of the halcyon is so charming, that 
it ought to have been founded on fact. But Ovid 
was a better poet than naturalist. 

To the power of tranquillizing the tempest, the 
halcyon was supposed to add the gift of foretelling 
good or bad weather. By degrees, writers of fiction 
endowed its feathers with the power of rendering 
silk proof against the sting of insects, of yielding 
wealth and harmony, and conferring grace and 
beauty on the wearers. The halcyon deposits 
its eggs on the sea-shore, on the banks of lakes and 
rivers ; and its breeding season is that when the air 
is most calm and serene ; but its power of controlling 
the dements is wholly fabulous. 



296 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

SORCERERS AND MAGICIANS. 

In the works of St. Augustine we are informed 
that there existed in his time in Italy, women pos- 
sessed of the power attributed by the poets to Circe, 
who transformed men into beasts of burthen, and 
compelled them to bear their baggage. St. Augustin 
mentions that a priest named Fraestantius unfortu- 
nately meeting one of those women, was changed 
into a mule, and compelled to bear a trunk on his 
back ; and that it was only when she had no 
further occasion for his services, he was allowed to 
resume his gown and band. 

Are we to infer from this passage, that one of 
the greatest minds that ever enlightened the Church 
believed in this species of transformation ? Certainly 
not ! The works of St. Augustin are not to be 
literally interpreted 

The^ hyperbole simply implies that there are in 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 297 

Italy women whose charms are so powerful, and 
whose allurements so dangerous, that men who 
give way to their influence, ceasing to be men, are 
reduced to the condition of brutes, and exerdse the 
most degrading labour. As to the priest Prse- 
stantius, his name contains the key to the mystery ; 
and he was probably one of the minor Canons of 
the Church converted into a slave to do the errands 
of some attractive dame. 

This version of the passage of St. Augustin, so 
often cited for twelve centuries by the believers in 
magic, was simply an exhortation against female 
seduction to the laity and clergy of his time. It 
has proved, however, no small advantage to mounte- 
banks to be backed by the authority of the illustrious 
name of St. Augustin ! 

The annals of the Jesuits abound in terrible 
histories of atonement made at the stake for imputed 
sorcery. The following instance is related by Dom 
Calmet. Charles IV., Duke of Lorraine, had in 
his service a valet-de-chambre, named Desbordes, 
who was accused of having hastened, by the art of 
sorcery, the death of the Princess Mary of Lorraine, 
mother to the Duke. 

" Charles IV. conceived suspicions against Des- 
bordes, from the period of his having furnished 
a grand banquet given by the Duke to a hunting 



298 A WORLD OP WONDBRS. 

party at a moment's notice : Desbordes having made 
no other pr^Nffatives than to open a chest, having 
three trays, upon which were three courses reacfy 
prepared. During another hunting party, Desbordes 
reanimated three criminals suspended from a gibbet, 
and commanded them to make obdsance to the 
Duke; having done which, he bade them hang 
themselves again. Another time, he made the 
figures in a piece of tapestry come down and join 
in the dance. Charles IV., alarmed at these super- 
natural feats, eventually brought Desbordes to trial; 
and he was condemned and executed as a magician 
for mere acts of sleight of hand. 

The real cause of his condemnation was the 
enmity of the court-physicians of Lorraine; whom 
he had irritated by the disappointment of their 
predictions touching the death of the Princess Mary ; 
for had his judges reaUy believed in his power of 
restoring the dead to life, their sentence of execution 
would have been absurd. 

The most learned men of times famed for their 
learning have sometimes condescended to confirm 
these popular errors. Baronius affirms the bridge 
of the Spiritus Sanctus, in Rome, to have been erected 
by a glance from the eye of a child of twelve years 
old, named Benezet; and his assertion is founded 
upon five Papal bulls. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 299 

Paulus JoviuS) a man of unquestionable erudition, 
confirms the popular l^end concerning the black 
dog of Cornelius Agrippa; stating that, when on 
his death-bed at Lyons, he uttered dreadful impreca- 
tions against his faithful attendant, who was supposed 
by the vulgar to be a familiar spirit disguised under 
the form of a cur ; saying, " Away with thee wretched 
beast, through whom I am lost to all eternity!" 
On whifih the dog precipitated itself into the Sadne, 
and appeared no more. Unfortunately for the his- 
torian, Agrippa died at Grenoble, and not at Lyons, 
so that the Sa6ne is rather far fetched. But those 
who believe in familiar spirits are apt to be loose 
in their notions of geography. 

The work of James I., upon Demonology, is one 
of the most curious records of the superstition of 
his time, of which the feats of Nicholas Hopkins, 
the witch-finder, afford so cruel an evidence. The 
royal author would, perhaps, have been better 
employed in seeing a more enlightened education 
bestowed upon his iU-advised son, than in perpetuating 
his own credulity. 

The Memoirs of the Cardinal de Richelieu admit 
his belief in witchcraft. In his time, it was an 
advantage to a Minister of State to have at his 
disposal accusations of a mysterious crime, where 
disculpation was next to impossible. Urbain Gran- 
dier, the priest, who was condemned to death for 



300 A WOULD OF WONDERS. 

allowing the nuns of Loudun to communicate with 
the devil, was one among many victims to the 
darkness of the public mind. 

By the Parliaments of Prance, hundreds were 
burnt for witchcraft in the course of a few months. 
The shepherds of La Brie alone supplied inniunerable 
victims ; as the supposed authors of all the domestic 
misfortunes of the district, the murrain that carried 
off the cattle, and the hooping-cough tha^ carried 
off the children. like the old women in Scotland, 
they were " na canny ;" and like them, expiated the 
prejudice among faggots and tar-barrels. But 
though we no longer bum for witchcraft, the pro- 
fession is far from extinct ; and in the remote 
districts of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, 
there scarcely exists a country magistrate but has had 
some charge brought before him implying the exercise 
of witchcraft. The horse-shoe is still seen nailed 
above the doors of our villages ; and fortune-tellers, 
and spaewives are consulted, in spite of Sunday 
schools and the Lancastrian system. Not a day 
passes, but the ordeal of the Bible and key, the 
Sortes virgiliane of the vulgar, is resorted to in 
some village of the British empire ; but the exorcisms 
of the school-master will probably drive both witches 
and witch-finders from the land. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 301 



CHAPTER XLVL 



MALE AND FEMALE. 



When the learned Spaniard, Feijoo, was about 
to decide upon the comparative power and merit 
of the two sexes, he invoked an angel to descend 
from Heaven to enlighten his mind; so perplexing 
did he feel the arguments on both sides. 

Rousseau, in comparing the sexes, observes, " as 
I pursue my investigations, I perceive on all sides 
affinity — on all sides discrepancy." 

And long may that discrepancy exist. The merit 
of woman consists in the oppositeness of her qualities 
to those of the male sex. 

To be completely woman, is her perfection; as 
man is never more perfect than when most com- 
pletely man. Sybarites and Amazons are alike 
at variance with nature ; and Hercules handling the 
distaff of Omphale could not be more absurd than 
Omphale wielding the club of Hercules. 

In heathen times, and even now, in countries 



302 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

undvilized by Christianity, the condition of women 
is of a subordinate and miserable nature. Aristotie 
was one of the greatest depredators of women; 
regarding them as an incomplete production, and 
at variance with the ends of nature. He fancied 
that, in a more perfect order of things, only men 
would be seen on earth. In the tragedies of Euri- 
pides, women are treated with unmeasured contempt ; 
and his opinions being embraced by the Greeks, were 
adopted by the early theologians alluded to by St. 
Augustin ; who pretended that at the day of judg- 
ment, God would reform his work, and the dead 
of both sexes rise again of the masculine gender. 
In the fifth century, it was agitated in council, whether 
our Saviour died for women as well as men ; nor was 
it till after the most violent contestation, dedded in 
the affirmative. Mahomet, the most violent opponent 
of the equality of sexes exduded women from Paradise 
except in a few favoured instances. 

Chivalry was the first defender of the weaker 
sex. 

At the beginning of the twelfth century, a doctor, 
named Amauri, of the diocese of Chartres, attempted 
to renew the doctrine of Aristotie concerning women, ' 
declaring them to be imperfect works acddentally 
proceeding from the hands of God. The Arch- 
bishop of Paris, however, convened a council, which 
declared his doctrine to be heretical; and anathemized 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 303 

Amauri, who having died previous to the decree, his 
lady was disinterred, and thrown into the common 
sewer. This proceeding gave much satisfaction to 
the Parisian populace; but was scarcely necessary 
to refute the impertinent assertions of Aristotle and 
his disciple. 

It is unnecessary to dwell upon the criticisms, 
satires, and diatribes, of which women have been 
the objects, — ^from Juvenal, to Boileau and Pope; 
and from Boccaccio and Brantome, to La Fontaine 
and Byron: — for their champions are, at least, 
as numerous as their assailants. Among themselves 
Madame de GenHs in France, and Mary Wolstone- 
croft in England, have fought a good fight in favour 
of the equality of the sexes. 

Mallebranche, one of the writers who has most 
profoundly studied the question, accords to women 
a decid6d superiority in'point of sensibflify; but 
decides them to be equally inferior to the male sex 
in point of abstract ideas. Arguing upon the diffe- 
rence of organisation, and conceiving the brain to 
be the seat of intellectual operations, he shows that 
the brain of women is of a more feeble organization, 
and less extended than that of men ; and concludes, 
from the diameter of their head being less, that their 
minds must maintain the same proportion. This 
opinion is based upon the craniological, or phrenolo- 
gical system. 



304 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Mallebranche agrees with Dr. Gall in the belief 
that the seat of inteOigenoe lies essentially in the 
brain, and that the amount of oiu: faculties is 
proportioned to the volume of that organ : that 
stupid animals have scarcely any brain, and sagacious 
animals much ; that no animal can vie in proportion 
with that of man; ^nd that among men, idiots 
are remarkable for deficiency of brain. On this 
point, the learned and the ignorant fully coincide ; — 
a fool or idiot, having been always styled a brainless 
fellow. 

The Cretins of the Valais, and the Pyrenees, who 
have very diminutive heads, are alike devoid of 
intellect, and suffer from the same affliction. In 
the intellectual physiology of Domangeon, he relates, 
that, of two maniacs under his care, a young person 
suddenly berefl of reason had a head incredibly small; 
while an old woman, similarly afflicted, had a brain no 
larger than that of a child of three years old. 

Experiment has now proved the brain to be the seat 
of human intelligence. The celebrated Dr. Richerand, 
attended a patient whose brain was accidentally ex- 
posed, and Lous to convince himself that the brain 
was really the seat of intelligence, he pressed that of 
his patient with his hand, when the intellectual 
powers immediately ceased, and upon withdrawing 
his hand, they recovered their faculties. 

Those who still deny the brain to be the seat of 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 305 

intelligence, instance, in support of their theory, the 
' existence of reason after the ossification of the brain ; 
and of children, born deficient in spinal marrow. 
Duvemey exhibited to the Academy of Sciences at 
Paris, the head of an ox nearly petrified, notwith- 
standing which, it had never betrayed the least 
uneasiness, or any unusual symptoms. 

It is certain that considerable portions of the brain 
have been removed from a living subject, in cases 
of accident, without prejudice to the intellectual facul- 
ties. But the lobes being double, a portion may be 
cut away without affecting its power; as in losing 
an eye or an ear, the faculty of seeing and hearing 
remains. 

All this, however, is a digression fi-om the feet 
asvserted; that the brain of a woman weighs less 
by one sixteenth than that of a man! The mean 
weight of the brain of a man is estimated at three 
pounds; and it is found to be two pounds thirteen 
ounces in that of a woman, from which it may 
be inferred that man is a sixteenth part more intel- 
ligent than woman. It may, however, be argued 
that this is only accordant with the other comparative 
proportions of the human frame. The stature of 
woman is a sixteenth less than that of man, and the 
brain ought surely to be in proportion to the 
stature. 



306 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

On this point, J. J. Rousseau observes, " A perfect 
woman and perfect man ought to be as dissimilar in 
form and face, as in soul. A well-conditioned man 
should not be less than five feet and a half in height, 
with a sonorous voice and well-bearded chin." But 
considering the number of .men who expend many 
hours a day in adorning and perfuming their 
persons, and lounging upon a sofa or beside a 
work-table, it is not wonderful that women should be 
tempted to consider themselves somewhat nearer on 
a par with those who renoimce the manly attributes 
of their sex. 

In establishing between man and woman certain 
relations and differences. Providence has clearly 
distinguished the condition of the two sexes. To 
the stronger, he assigned rude labour and the tillage 
of the earth ; to the weaker, domestic duties, and the 
rearing of progeny. The one has an out-door, the 
other an in-door existence ; and by the duties of the 
mother, the position of the slighter sex is distinctly 
pointed out. 

It would appear as if the comparative merit of 
the sexes were influenced by the effect of climate ; 
the Salique-law still prevailing in several of the most 
civilized countries of Europe, in spite of the glorious 
reigns of Elizabeth and Anne in England, and Cathe- 
rine in Russia; and the living example of three female 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 307 

sovereigns on the throne. But it may be added that 
in two of the countries where woman is excluded 
from the throne, she exercises in private life fourfold 
the influence assigned her in England, Spain, or Por- 
tugal, where she is admitted to the privileges of 
supreme power. 



f 



X 2 



308 A WOULD OP WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XLVIL 



MINOR SUPERSTITIONS. 



One of the most prevalent minor superstitions 
has its origin in a religious influence. Friday is 
regarded as the most unlucky day of the week, 
from being that of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 
People of all classes object to commencing an under- 
taking, or a journey, on Friday ; and the Calabrian 
brigands forbear to assassinate on that day, however 
difficult to postpone the premeditated crime till the 
following morning. They feel convinced that a 
murder committed on a Friday will be overtaken by 
the hand of justice. In Paris, the average quantity of 
new pieces produced at the different theatres is from 
a hundred and fifty to two hundred ; and for the last 
thirty years, not one of these has been produced for 
the first time on a Friday. 

Boileau, in one of his Satires, places among the 

number of human weaknesses, the superstition which 

makes 

Twelve grouped together, fear an other one. 



!>;•■ 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 309 

The origin of this sentiment dates from the Last 
Supper ; when, thirteen heing at table, one of them 
betrayed and another denied his master, and " went 
and hanged himself ;" and a prejudice has ever since 
prevailed that out of every thirteen dipping together in 
the dish, one must fall a victim before the end of the 
year. The probability that one out of every thirteen 
may die in the course of the year, exceeds but little 
the usual chances of mortality. 

The dislike which many entertain of seeing a knife 
and fork crossed on a plate, has also reference to a 
religious objection as an emblem of the crucifixion. 
Yet it sometimes obtains ascendancy over imbe- 
lievers. Frederick the Great disliked seeing a knife 
and fork crossed so much, that he never failed to 
uncross them. Others dislike to see three candles 
lighted ; an omen borrowed from the ancients, who 
regarded them as symbolic of the Fates, the 
Furies, and the three heads of Cerberus. 



310 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 



SOMNAMBULISM. 



'' Dreams are the interludes of a busy fancy/' say 
the copybooks ; and in some instances they appear 
to excite in the body impulses equally active. 

Condillac, the mathematician, when surprised by 
sleep in the midst of his abstruse calculations, often 
found that, on awaking, the solution of a problem 
presented itself spontaneously to his mind, as though 
he had been working in his sleep. 

But a more familiar instance of somnambulism is 
that of a deceased Hampshire Baronet. 

This gentleman was nearly driven to distraction 
by the fact that, every night, he went to bed in a 
shirt, and every morning awoke naked, without 
the smallest trace of the missing garment being 
discovered. 

Hundreds of shirts disappeared in this manner; 
and as there was no fire in his room, it was impos- 
sible to account for the mystery. The servants 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 311 

believed their master to be mad ; and even he began 
to fancy himself bewitched. In this conjimcture, 
he implored an intimate friend to sleep in the room 
with him ; and ascertain by what manner of myste- 
rious midnight visitant his garment was so strangely 
removed. The friend, accordingly, took up his 
station in the haunted chamber; and lo! as the 
clock struck one, the unfortunate Baronet, who had 
previously given audible intimation of being fast 
asleep, rose from his bed, rekindled with a match 
the candle which had been extinguished, deliberately 
opened the door, and quitted the room. His 
astonished fnend foflowed ; saw him open in succes- 
sion a variety of doors, pass along several passages, 
traverse an open court, and eventually reach the 
stable-yard ; where he divested himself of his shirt, 
and disposed of it in an old dung heap, into which 
he thrust it by means of a pitch fork. Having 
finished this extraordinary operation, without taking 
the smallest heed of his friend who stood looking 
on, and plainly saw that he was walking in his 
sleep, he returned to the house, carefully redosed the 
doors, re-extinguished the light, and returned to bed ; 
where the following morning he awoke, as usual, 
stripped of his shirt ! 

The astonished eye-witness of this extraordinary 
scene, instead of apprizing the sleep-walker of what 
had occurred, insisted that the following night, a 



312 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

companion should sit up with him; choosing to 
have additional testimony to the truth of the state- 
ment he was ahout to make ; and the same singular 
events were renewed, without the slightest change or 
deviation. The two witnesses, accordingly, divulged 
all they had seen to the Baronet ; who, though at 
first incredulous, became of course convinced, when, 
on proceeding to the stable*yard, several dozens of 
shirts were discovered ; though it was surmised that 
as many more had been previously removed by one 
of the helpers, who probably looked upon the hoard 
as stolen goods concealed by some thief." 

A far stranger circumstance has been related by 
a highly-beneficed member of the Roman Catholic 
Church. 

In the College where he was educated was a 
young Seminarist who habitually walked in his sleep ; 
and while in a state of somnambulism, used to sit 
down to his desk and compose the most eloquent 
sermons ; scrupulously erasing, effacing, or interlining, 
whenever an incorrect expression had fallen fi'om 
his pen. Though his eyes were apparently fixed upon 
the paper when he wrote, it was dear that they 
exercised no optical functions ; for he Wrote just as 
well when an opaque substance was interposed 
between them and the sheet of paper. 

Sometimes, an attempt was made to remove the 
paper, in the idea that he would write upon the desk 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 313 

beneath. But it was observed that he instantly 
discerned the change ; and sought anoth^ sheet of 
paper, as nearly as possible resembling the former 
one. At other times, a blank sheet of paper was 
substituted by the bystanders for the one on which 
he had been writing; in which case, on reading over, 
as it were, his composition, he was sure to place 
the corrections, su^ested by the perusal, at precisely 
the same intervals they would have occupied in the 
original sheet of manuscript. 

This young priest, moreover, was an able musician ; 
and was seen to compose several pieces of music 
while in a state of somnambulism ; drawing the lines 
of the music paper for the purpose with a ruler and 
pen and ink, and filling the spaces with his notes 
with the utmost precision, besides a careful adapta-^ 
tion of the words, in vocal pieces. 

On one occasion, the somnambulist dreamt that 
he sprang into a river to save a drowning child ; 
and, on his bed, was seen to imitate the move- 
ments of swimming. Seizing the pillow, he appeared 
to snatch it from the waves and lay it on the shore. 
The night was intensely cold ; and so severely did he 
appear affected by the imaginary chill of the river, 
as to tremble in every limb ; and his state of cold 
and exhaustion when roused, was so alarming, that it 
was judged necessary to administer wine and other 
restoratives." 



314 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

It would require a volume to relate the wonders of 
artificial somnambulism produced by Animal Magne- 
tism, i. e. the somnolency produced in certain organi- 
zations by persons constitutionally endowed for the 
purpose ; during which, some patients become so 
utterly insensible, that surgical operations of the 
most painful nature, such as amputation, have been 
perfornied upon them without their knowledge. 
Others appear to be transported into a higher 
sphere ; and in a frame of mind described under the 
name of clairvoyance, become capable of reading 
sealed letters and closed books ; of speaking languages 
of which they are otherwise ignorant, and indicating 
the name and nature of misunderstood diseases, as 
well as the means of cure ; though at the cessation 
of the state of somnambulism, all recollection is 
effaced of the wonders they have performed under 
its influence. 

The mysteries of Magnetic Science are at present 
so imperfectly understood, and afford so wide a 
field for scientific argument, that it would be 
presumptuous to enter further into the subject in a 
work affecting to treat of errors and superstitions. 



^ 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 31 S 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

A FEW MORE WORDS ABOUT GHOSTS, VAMPIRES, AND 

LOUP-GAROUX. 

In the winter of 1758, the sacristan of Polliac 
expired, after a few hours* illness, of a fright 
produced by the sight of a large white rabbit seated 
on the grave-stone of a famous poacher recently 
deceased, as he was crossing the church-yard at mid- 
night after accompanying the curate to administer 
the last sacrament to a dying parishioner. The 
mind of this poor fellow, who was a proficient 
in the ghost stories of the neighbourhood, was 
probably deeply impressed by the melancholy scene 
he had been witnessing; which, combined with the 
desperate character and blasphemous habits of Blaise 
Holland, the poacher, induced him to suppose 
that the soul of the defunct had undergone trans- 
formation, or that Satan himself was watching over 



316 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

his grave, in the shape of one of the animals he had 
so oilen appropriated to hitnsdf. 

The rabbit proved in the sequel to be a tame 
. one escaped from a neighbouring farm. But in the 
interim, the poor man had fallen a victim to his panic ! 
A more rational being would have inquired of him- 
sdf for what purpose the Almighty could be sup- 
posed to suffer the soul of an obscure poacher to 
revisit the earth, when we learn from divine writ His 
refusal to permit the appearance of Dives to his 
brethren, as a superfluous concession. " If they hear 
not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be 
persuaded, though one rose fitim the dead !" 

Nothing can be more absurd than the fimctions 
attributed to ghosts, when we know that the soul, 
at the moment of its separation fit)m the body, is 
an impalpable, invisible, substance. Yet this spiri- 
tual essence, which eye hath not seen, or ear heard, 
is supposed to have exercised the power of drawing 
chains, undrawing curtains, opening doors, ringing 
bells, uttering groans, articulating reproaches ; in the 
face of the Scriptural Revelation " that the body shall 
return to the dust, and the spirit unto God who 
gave it !" 

We find in St. John's Gospel, that the souls of 
ikmd in the different mansions of the Almighty, 
ive after death the reward of deeds done in the 
y. Is it likely then that they should have leisure 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 31? 

or inclination for revisiting their dreary mansion of 
clay? 

There is one instinct which we are bound to 
accord to ghosts ; i. e. a wonderful aptitude for the 
discovery of cowards! In the ghost-stories of all 
countries, it is observable that the first impulse of 
the person addressed by a spectre is to take to his 
heels. With the exception of the Jady of the 
Beresford fitmily, who is said to have sat and talked 
theology with her brother, there is no record of 
a rational conversation between a disembodied spirit 
and those of the flesh ; for the pretended apparition of 
Mrs. Veale, is now known to have been an ingenious 
bookseller's puff of the work of Drelincourt on 
Death. 

In most instances, ghost-stories have their origin 
in some incident which no one has been at the 
pains to investigate. In 1 746, the public Theatre 
of Anatomy, in Paris, was disturbed by the sudden 
frenzy of the porter in care of the dissecting- 
room; who protested that the spirit of a young 
man, whose body had been deposited there 
the preceding day, after having committed siricide 
by throwing himself into the Seine, had appeared 
to him in the course of the night, bewailing 
and lamenting the dreadful consequences of his crime. 

Bruhier, the learned Professor of Anatomy, aware 
of the injurious consequences likely to arise Ifrom a 



318 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

rq>ort that the theatre was haunted, examined care- 
fully into the det^ of the case ; when it appeared 
that this unfortunate young man, having recovered 
in the course of the night from the state of insen- 
sibility in which he was deposited in the dissecting- 
room, and terrified by the horrible aspect of the spot 
in which he found himself, among dead bodies, 
skeletons and anatomical preparations faintly illuDU- 
nated by the light of a lamp, had dragged himself 
to the door of the small adjoining room inhabited 
by the porter, and in famt accents implored his as- 
sistance, and described the agonies of his situation. 

The porter, roused from his sleep by the appeal 
of a dead man wrapped in bis winding-sheet, 
instantly lost his senses ; and the doors being locked 
upon them, the exhausted young man, whom Rvvi- 
dence had thus fruitlessly restored, sank a victim 
to cold and exhaustion. His body was discovered 
stretched on the floor of the dissecting-room near 
the porter's door. But for the judicious investiga- 
tions of Monsieur Bruhier, this would have been 
established as an authentic instance of spectral virita- 
tion! 

A similar circumstance occurred in Lancashire 
some years ago. 

</, the wife of a wealthy squire, died after 
cted illness; and on the evening of her 
her husband, desirous to pass a solitary 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 319 

hour by the body, sent the nurse who was watching 
beside it, out of the room. Before the expiration 
of an hour, the bell by which the deceased had 
been in the habit of summonmg the nurse, rang 
violently ; and the woman, fancying the unfortunate 
widower was taken suddenly ill, hurried into the 
room. He dismissed her angrily, however, protesting 
that he had not rung. Shortly afterwards, the bell 
was rung a second time ; when the woman ob- 
served to one of the servants that she should not 
attend to the summons, as the gentleman might 
agam repent having summoned her, and dismiss her 
ungraciously. 

« It cannot be my master who is ringing now,'* 
replied the footman, ^'for I have this moment left 
him m the drawing-room.*' 

And while he was still speaking, the bell of the 
chamber of death rang a third time— and still more 
violently than before. 

The nurse was now literally afraid to obey the 
summons : nor was it till several of the servants 
agreed to accompany her, that she could command 
suflScient courage. At length, they ventured to open 
the door, expecting to discover, within, some terrible 
spectacle. 

All, however, was perfectly tranquil; the corpse 
extended upon the bed under a holland sheet, which 
was evidently undisturbed. Such, however, was the 



320 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

agitation of the poor nurse, that nothing would 
induce her to r^ooain alone with the body ; and one 
of the housemaids accordingly agreed to become her 
companion in the adjoining dressing-room. 

They had not been there many minutes, when 
the beU again sounded ; nor could there be any mis* 
take on the subject, for the beU^wire passing round 
the dressing-room was in motion, and the servants 
in the offices could attest the vibration of the bell. 
The family butler accordingly determined . to support 
the courage of the terrified women by accompanying 
them back to the dressingrroom, in which they were 
to sit with the door open, so as to command a view 
of the bed. 

These precautions effectually unravelled the mys- 
tery! A string had been attached to the bell-puU 
to enable the sick lady to summon her attendants 
without dianging h^ position, which, still vmremoved, 
hung down upon the floor; and a fciyourite kitten, 
often admitted into the room to amuse the invalid, 
having entered the diamber unobserved, was playing 
with the string, which, being entangled in her feet, 
had produced this general panic. 

But for the opportune explanation of this trivial 
incident, the family mansion would have obtained 
the notoriety of a haunted house, and probably 
been deserted! 

Sudb, was the case with the Crown Inn at Antwerp, 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 321 

where some years ago, a white spectre, bearing a 
lamp in one hand and a bunch of keys in the 
other, was seen by a variety of travellers passing 
along a corridor till it disappeared in a particular 
chamber. 

Nothing would satisfy the neighbours that an un- 
fortunate traveller had not been, at some period or 
other, despatched in that fatal room by one of the 
previous landlords of the house; and the Crown 
gradually obtained the name of the Haunted Inn, 
and ceased to be frequented by its old patrons. 

The landlord, finding himself on the brink of ruin, 
determined to sleep in the haunted-room with a view 
of proving the groundlessness of the story; and 
caused his ostler to bear him company, on pretence 
of requiring a witness to the absurdity of the report ; 
but in reality, from cowardice. At dead of night, 
however, just as the two men were composing them- 
selves to sleep in one bed, leaving another which 
was in the room untenanted, the door flew open, 
and in glided the white spectre ! 

Without pausing to ascertain what it might at- 
tempt on approaching the other bed, towards which 
it directed its course, the two men rushed naked 
out of the room ; and by the alarm they created, 
confirmed, more fully than ever, the evil repute of 
the house. 

Unable longer to sustain the cost of so unpro- 



Y 



322 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

ductive an establishment, the poor landlord advertised 
for sale the house in which he and his father before 
him were born and bred. But bidders were as 
scarce as customers ; the inn remaining on sale for 
nearly a year, dining which, from time to time, the 
spectre reappeared. 

At length, an officer of the garrison, who had 
formerly frequented the house, and recollected the 
excellent quality of its wine, moved to compassion in 
favour of the poor host, undertook to clear up the 
mystery by sleeping in the haunted chamber ; nothing 
doubting that the whole was a trick of some envious 
neighbour, desirous of deteriorating the value of the 
freehold in order to become a purchaser. 

His offer having been gratefully accepted, the Cap- 
tain took up his quarters in the fatal room, with a 
bottle of wine, and a brace of loaded pistols on the 
table before him; determined to shoot at whatever 
object might enter the doors. 

At the usual hour of midnight, accordingly, when 
the door flew open and the white spectre bearing a 
lamp and a bunch of keys made its appearance, he 
seized his weapons of destruction ; when, lo ! as his 
finger was on the point of touching the trigger, what 
was his panic on perceiving that the apparition was 
no other than the daughter of his host, a young and 
pretty girl, evidently walking in her sleep! Pre- 
serving the strictest silence, he watched her set down 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 323 

the lamp, place her keys carefully on the chimney- 
piece, and retire to the opposite bed, which, as it 
afterwards proved, she had often occupied during the 
life-time of her late mother who slept in the room. 

No sooner had she thoroughly composed herself, 
than the officer, after locking the door of the room, 
went in search of her father and several competent 
witnesses ; including the water-bailiff of the district, 
who had been one of the loudest in circulating 
rumours concerning the Haunted Inn, The poor 
girl was found quietly asleep in bed ; and her terror 
on waking in the dreaded chamber, afforded suffi- 
cient evidence to all present of the state of som- 
nambulism in which she had been entranced. 

From that period, the spectre was seen no more ; 
probably because the landlord's daughter removed 
shortly afterwards to a home of her own. 

It has frequently occurred, for ill-disposed per- 
sons to profit by the ill-name of a haunted house, 
as in the case of gangs of coiners and thieves, who 
raise such reports in order to secure impunity in 
their haunts. The Palace of the Tuileries is said 
to be haunted by a Red Man, who regularly appears 
on the eve of any popular tumult, betiding evil to the 
Royal Family of France. And appear he will, to the 
end of time ; for those who wish to create a political 
panic, take care that the apparition shall be perio- 
dically renewed. The Palace at Berlin was at one 

Y 2 



324 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

time in danger of having a Weisse Frau, or White 
Lady, to match with the Red Man. 

During the reign of Frederick I., one of the 
Princesses, his daughters, being dangerously ill, a 
white spectre was seen to traverse the royal corridor 
leading to her apartments; and from that moment, 
the royal family gave up all hope of her recovery. 
The following night, the Princess expired; and not 
a soul about the Coiurt doubted that the fatal event had 
been announced by the appearance of the White Lady, 
who, on being challenged by the guard at the head of 
the staircase had flitted past like a shadow. Great 
difficulty was found in procuring proper attendants 
to watch beside the body of her royal highness ; when 
one of the royal Chaplains requested a sight of the 
depositions of the soldiers by whom the spectre 
had been accosted. 

The mystery was instantly explained. A favourite 
attendant of the late Princess, who, from the moment 
of her death had been confined to her bed by severe 
affliction, happened to have mentioned to the Chap- 
lain that, on quitting her royal highness's room in 
search of him, about midnight, the night preceding 
her mistress's demise, having a white veil thrown over 
her head to keep her from the night air, she had 
been challenged by the sentinel on guard; which 
being contrary to etiquette in a spot where her 
person was well known, she had not thought proper 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 325 

to reply. On further investigation, the evidence of 
the young lady herself was obtained ; when it 
appeared that the period of her passage in a white 
night-dress, to and from the Princess's apartments, 
corresponded exactly with the apparitions of the 
White Lady described by the soldiers ; a happy relief 
for those who were compelled to inhabit that wing 
of the palace. 

A curious discovery occurred some years ago, at 
the head-quarters of the French army on the banks 
of the Rhine. It appears that rumours became 
suddenly prevalent of the repeated appearance of the 
spectre of the famous General Marceau, who, 
was killed at Altenkirchen near Coblentz, in 1796, 
and buried in the glacis of that city. He was, never- 
theless, seen in his uniform as a General of Chasseurs, 
with a drawn sword in his hand, by several sentries 
and patroles ; and nothing was discussed in Paris but 
the nature of the omens to be inferred from this appa- 
rition of one of the bravest officers of the Republic. 

It happened that the French Commandant of the 
city of Coblentz was a school-fellow and intimate 
friend of General Marceau ; and either in hopes 
of once more beholding one so much beloved, 
or with a view of detecting the impostor who had 
presumed to trifle with his memory, he marched to 
the spot pointed out as the usual haunt of the 
spectre, escorted by a company of grenadiers. 



326 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

Shortly after his arrival, the ghost made its 
customary appearance, and hy way of military salute, 
the Commandant ordered his men to '' make ready" 
and '^ present !" But ere he could add the fatal 
word " fire," the ghost was upon its knees, 
whining piteously; realizing the officer's shrewd 
suspicions that it would prove to be one of the 
boatmen of the Rhine, who had assumed this appall- 
ing costume in order to pursue his calling unmo- 
lested, of conveying by night to the fortress of 
Ehrenbreitstein, opposite Coblentz, (at that moment 
besieged by the French) the provisions and succours 
so vital to the garrison. In the character of 
Marceau's ghost, accordingly, he had nightly paraded 
the glacis ; keeping the coast clear fi'om intrusion, 
while his boats traversed the river towards the 
fortress. 

Every one who has travefled in Hungary is 
familiar with the superstitions of the Willis, or 
dancing-brides, and the Vampires, or bodies that 
preserve a posthumous life by the suction of blood 
from human veins. But the latter superstition has 
found its way to other countries. A grave having 
been accidentally opened in a church-yard in Lor- 
raine, about the year 1726, the body of a school- 
master who, in his lifetime, bad been strongly 
suspected of proficiency in the occult sciences, but 
who had been dead nearly half a century, was 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 327 

discovered in his cofBn, as plump and fresh as 
though still alive ; his eyes bright — his air joyous. 

The whole village having crowded to the spot to 
behold the miracle, instantly recognised a Vampire 
in this healthful corpse. Thousands of anecdotes 
were instantly cited of children lost in the neigh- 
bourhood ; who, though previously supposed to have 
fallen into the river, or been destroyed by wolves, 
had evidently satisfied the dreadful appetites of the 
dead schoolmaster ! In order to keep him, for the 
future, quiet and harmless in his grave, the villagers 
drove a stake through the body, after having cut off 
his head and burnt it on the spot. 

Had they persevered in their search, they would 
doubtless have found reason to fear, from the evi- 
dence of the adjoining graves, that their own fathers 
and mothers were also Vampires. Many soils, par- 
ticularly those impregnated with nitre, have the 
property of preserving bodies by converting them to 
a substance resembling spermaceti. Similar disco- 
veries have been made in several chiu-ch-yards in 
England; but luckily without provoking suspicions 
so preposterous. 

In the course of a few years, thanks to the 
progress of national education, the best authenticated 
ghost-story going will scarcely find an auditor. Half 
of the magic rites and mystic wonders of the olden 
time have found able expositors in our own, in 



328 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

the retort and the crucible. We no longer exor- 
cise a ghost : — ^we decompose it, — ^like any other gas. 

The orgies of intemperance used to be a fertile 
source of apparitions ; as in the case of the female 
spectre which rebuked the infidelity of Lord Lyttleton 
— and the appearance of Lord Lyttleton himself to 
his friend Miles Peter Andrews ; two bon vivants^ 
who were most likely indebted for their nocturnal 
visions to an extra bottle of claret, and a broiled 
bone. 

A clergyman, who had been struggling hard and 
sacrificing his nights' rest for a series of months to 
a new translation of the Prophecies, took it into his 
head one night, that three children had entered 
his room and were seated at his writing table. As 
there was nothing alarming in such a visitation, he 
continued to write on ; and on retiring to bed, at 
daybreak, left his young visitors apparently occu- 
pying their place. When he woke in the morning, 
they had of course disappeared. 

The illusion was, however, so strong, and re- 
curred so often, that his studies were seriously 
interrupted ; till at last he took the only wise 
step ever taken by an inveterate ghost-seer : —he 
consulted an eminent physician. 

"You have been overworking yourself," was the 
judicious reply, " and unless you have recourse to 
air and exercise, your nervous system will become 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 329 

seriously impaired. Such cases are by no means 
rare among men of studious habits. In some in- 
stances, the spectrum is created by a disorder of the 
optic nerve. In yours, I am pretty nearly sure that 
it arises from derangement of the stomach. A good 
dose, of calomel, my dear Sir, will lay all your ghosts 
in the Red Sea !" 

An ignominious conclusion of a romance, 
which in some respects resembles the story of 
the Lutheran clergyman related in Wraxall's Me- 
moirs ! who, on taking possession of his cure, was 
awoke early next morning by the spectre of a pastor 
in his gown and band, praying beside the desk at the 
foot of his bed, and holding a ghastly child by either 
hand, whom he recognised — by a likeness suspended 
in the parish church — ^as his predecessor in the 
living. This occurred in summer time; but at the 
beginning of winter, when the stove in his chamber 
came to be lighted, as it never used to be in the time 
of the former pastor, an unpleasant smell issuing 
from the chimney caused a search to be instituted ; 
when lo ! the bones of two young children were 
found among the ashes in the stove. The incmn- 
bent, who had already circulated the report of his 
ghost story, had of course the comfort of finding 
child-murder attributed to his predecessor. 

The instance of Eugene Aram and ^ Dan Clarke's 
bones' affords strong proof that those who hide can 



330 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

find ; and in the case in question, there appears some 
doubt whether the spectre were the delinquent. 

The subject of ghosts, however, must not be treated 
with less reverence than its due. Samuel and the 
Witch of Endor, and the declaration of the Evange- 
list that, during the Passion of our Saviour " the dead 
were raised up, and seen by many in the City of Jerusa- 
lem," remind us that spectral visitations are consistent 
with the records of Holy Writ. But in this case, as 
in ' that of demoniacal possession, the Christian era 
has produced a revolution in the pschycolo^cal 
phenomena of nature ; the power of the evil one over 
the human race being modified so that the dead are 
no longer raised up; while the angels of the Lord 
no longer manifest themselves to the eyes of man- 
kind, nor do His fallen angels take possession of 
the living soul. 

A remarkable story connected with the belief In 
spectral visitations, is that of the celebrated Bemhardi 
of Vienna ; who after speodmg the evening in a gay 
carouse with a party of young men of infidel prin- 
ciples, where he boldly avowed his disbelief in the 
existence of ghosts, tmdertook to proceed, as the 
bell tolled midnight, to an adjoining churchyard, 
and stick into a grave pointed out to him, a fork 
"''•"h was taken from the supper-table and pre- 
i to him for the purpose, 
considerable wager was to depend upon his 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 331 

execution of the feat; and at the appointed hour, 
with a daring deportment Bemhardi quitted the 
company, and repaired to the scene of action. It 
was agreed that he should return to the supper- 
table, leaving the fork sticking in the grave so as to 
be foimd on the morrow, in token of his accom- 
plishment of the exploit. 

Ten minutes would have sufficed for his visit to 
the church-yard. But at the close of an hour he 
was still absent; when his companions became 
convinced that he had turned coward and sneaked 
home to bed. They instantly determined to convict 
his defcQtion by following him to his lodgings ; but 
on their arrival, found, with no small consternation, 
that he had not made his appearance. 

One of them, more his friend than the rest, really 
alarmed for his safety, proposed that they should 
visit the chiu-ch-yard, and ascertain, at least, whether 
he had accomplished the feat. When lo ! extended 
on the grave lay the lifeless body of the scoffer; 
who had burst a blood-vessel and died of fright. 

Having accidentally pinned down his cloak to the 
earth in sticking the fork into the ground, where 
it still remained, he probably fancied himself trans- 
fixed by the hands of the grisly tenant of the 
grave he was thus unpardonably violating, for the 
sport of a drunken frolic; and thus became the 



332 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

victim of his unwarrantable sacrilege. Let those who 
jest upon such fearfiil matters, take warning by 
Bemhardi ! 

Another superstition connected i^ith the disem- 
bodied spirit, is the belief that spectres are to be 
found in the neighbourhood of hidden treasures. 

In barbarous countries, it was the practice to kill 
a slave on a spot where treasures were deposited, 
in order that his soul might watch over the hoard, 
and terrify others from the spoil. 

In Ireland, such murders would be gratuitous ; for 
almost every spot pointed out as having been a 
depository of treasures, in the olden time, is said 
to be haunted by a banshee. 

The same superstition appears to prevail in Ger- 
many and the Low Coimtries. 

Some years ago, a most ridicidous incident, 
founded upon this prejudice, came before the in- 
quisition of the Saxon tribunals. 

The Bxu-gomaster of the village of Brummersdorf, 
being a man of dissolute propensities, was in the 
habit of frequenting the public-house of the place, 
in order to enjoy with loose companions the irregu- 
larities he dared not attempt in his own house, in 
the fear of drawing upon himself the reprehension 
of his superiors in office. A fellow of the name 
of Osterwald, who acted as his clerk, was usually 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 333 

the companion of these excesses ; and many a good 
bottle of wine formed the cement of the excellent 
understanding between thenL 

One summer night, as they were seated, according 
to custom, in the public room of the inn, considerably 
the worse for a carouse prolonged after the decent 
inhabitants of the village had retired to rest, a 
stranger entered the inn demanding a night's lodg- 
ing ; and having approached the table at which 
the Burgomaster and his friend were drinking, con- 
tinued to attract their attention by uttering profound 
sighs. 

Provoked by the interruption, the Burgomaster, 
whose name was Listenbach, demanded the cause 
of his affliction; to which the fellow replied that 
it was one with which he did not choose to trouble 
two gentlemen so distinguished as those he saw 
before him. 

Tickled by this flattery, Osterwald insisted on an 
explanation ; and, at length, after much show of 
caution and mystery, the stranger declared that 
being a poor student of the University of Jena, he 
had been warned by a dream to repair to the old 
Castle of Brummersdorf ; where he woiild find 
a fertile source of prosperity for his old age. 

" I knew not," said the stranger, " that there 
existed such a spot as Brummersdorf on the face of 



334 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

the globe; but on coosulting my books of science, 
the following morning, I discovered, not only that 
it possessed the ruins of an ancient castle, formerly 
one of the finest in Westphalia, but that the con- 
stellations were favourable to the enterprize." 

" I recommend you then to set off at daybreak 
for the Castle," said Osterwald, " which is situated 
only a few hundred yards' distance, on the cliff 
overhanging the village." 

" Alas ! I have just returned from thence !" replied 
the stranger. " I was expressly enjoined in my 
dream to visit the spot at the full of the moon." 

" And what success have you met with, my good 
friend ?" demanded Listenbach, with increasing 
curiosity. 

" I need not tell you gentlemen, since you appear 
to be inhabitants of the place," replied the stranger, 
" that the old Castle of Brummersdorf is the depo- 
sitory of a prodigious treasure, the property of the 
extinct house of that name." 

"Indeed!" exclaimed his astonished auditors. 
" That accounts for the edict issued by Government 
that the inhabitants should on no account be per- 
mitted to disturb a stone of that ancient monument !" 

" On arriving at the spot," rejoined the stranger, 
" I made known in a loud voice the spiritual autho- 
rity by which my mission was appointed. When 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 335 

lo ! the spirit to whom is delegated the guardianship 
of the hidden treasure replied that he was not 
permitted to divulge the spot where it was buried, 
unless adjured by three persons at once ; and unless 
the vault containing it were opened by a magic key 
— to be formed of pure gold. But alas ! however 
tempting the prospect, gentlemen, how is a poor 
devil like myself to procure the twenty-one ducats 
which the spirit asserts to be indispensable for the 
casting of the key ; or the attendance of two enter- 
prizing companions willing to share my exploit, and 
its noble reward ?" 

" Your two companions are before you," exclaimed 
the boozy Burgomaster, " if you will accept our 
company. Let me see what money I have in my 
purse !" 

Even without paying the reckoning — including a 
fresh bottle of wine, called for to drink to the 
success of their expedition — the purse of the Bur- 
gomaster did not furnish half the necessary sum. 
Nothing was easier for him, however, than to 
despatch his clerk to the strong box of his office ; 
which, as he was obliging enough to acquaint 
them, contained nearly a couple of hundred ducats. 

In as short a time as the condition of his intellects 
would allow, Osterwald returned with the requisite 
sum ; and the three companions, after an inspiriting 



336 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

bumper, took their way towards the ruins of the old 
castle.* 

Having arrived on a platform before the venerable 
gateway, distinctly visible by the brilliant light of the 
moon, the stranger drew from his pocket a short 
black stick, with which he traced upon the parched 
turf a small cirde, adorning it with several mystical 
devices and symbols. 

"Within this magic circle," said he, addressing 
his companions who were overcome, partly by wine 
and partly by awe, "you must place yourselves, in 
order to be secure from the molestation of the evil 
spirits besetting the spot; while I proceed to fulfil 
the conditions of the guardian spirit of the eastern 
tower." 

The two drunkards, not a little pleased to be 
thus secured from an interview so tremendous, 
readily complied ; and having furnished the stranger 
with the purse, took up their position within the 
circle. For some time, intense anxiety kept them 
silent. At length, they ventured to communicate 
to each other their opinion,- that the interview 
between the strange student and the Spirit of the 
Castle was somewhat long; but being fortified by their 

* The scene of Dousterswivel in the house of the Antiquary, 
may, perhaps, owe its origin to the heroes of the Castle of 
Brummersdorf. 



/^ WORLD OF WONDERS. 337 

position within the magic circle, weary of standing, 
and oppressed by drowsiness, they agreed to stretch 
their limbs on the ground. 

Next morning, the village of Brummersdorf was 
disturbed by the discovery that in the course of the 
night the office of the Burgomaster had been broken 
into, and its strong box pillaged, the iron safe being 
left empty on the floor. A further search was im- 
mediately instituted ; but no Bm*gomaster was to 
be found; and his clerk being also absent, the 
dissolute character of Listenbach and Osterwald 
caused them to fall under suspicion of having em- 
bezzled and carried off the public funds. 

The testimony of the village landlord, however, 
soon induced other siumises; and the constables, 
by whom the robbery was discovered, having pro- 
ceeded at the head of a body of peasants to the 
ruins of the old Castle, the hapless Burgomaster 
and his drunken clerk were discovered stretched on 
the ground: — ^not, as was in the first instance ap- 
prehended, bathed in their gore, but quietly sleeping 
off the fumes of their carouse ! 

The loss of his money was succeeded, of course, 
by the loss of the place for which he had shown 
himself so incompetent. But in the course of the 
summer, the cunning impostor was arrested; and 
it was the evidence of the parties themselves on his 
trial which gave publicity to the story ! 

z 



338 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

An amusing anecdote occurs in the Memoirs of 
the President de Thou ; whose son, also a lawyer 
of eminence, having been despatched by Government 
in 1596 to the town of Saumur, on a mission 
of consequence, was desired to take up his quarters 
in the ancient H&tel-de-Vifle, the seat of Govern- 
ment. 

Having retired to bed with the uneasy feelings 
usually attendant on sleeping in a strange place, 
particularly one of so gloomy and solitary an aspect, 
the President was awoke about midnight by the 
weight of some heavy burthen suddenly flung upon 
his chest ; and entertained little doubt that an attempt 
was about to be made upon his life. Being a man 
of strength and courage, he seized the object in his 
arms, and flung it violently on the floor; when, 
by the heavy moans that ensued, he perceived it 
to be a human being. 

"Doubtless some thief," was his next reflection, 
"who was searching under my bolster during my 
slumbers for my watch and piirse." 

While the President was preparing to jump out 
of bed, the figure, which was attired in white, rose 
feebly from the floor, and by the dim light of the 
moon, assumed a somewhat spectral appearance. 

"Who are you?" cried the President, "answer 
this moment, or I will fell you to the earth !" 

" Who am I, ignoramus ? Who should I be but 



A WORLD OP WONDERS. 339 

the Queen of Heaven!" replied a cracked female 
voice; while the servant of the President, who 
slept in an adjoining room, being now disturbed, 
rushed in with lights ; and with the aid of the 
porter of the H6tel-de-Ville discovered the intruder 
to be a poor maniac, accustomed to wander about 
the streets of Saumur and find shelter where she 
could. 

Perceiving the doorway of the private apartments 
of the H&tel'de-Ville to be open, the poor woman 
had profited by so unusual a circumstance to secure 
the best bed-room. On Monsieur de Thou's return 
to Paris, the King, who insisted on hearing from 
his own lips his ridiculous adventure, complimented 
him on his presence of mind ; admitting that, for 
his own part, he stood more in fear of ghosts than of 
the shot of the etiemy. 

Had the servants of Monsieur de Thou encountered 
this midnight visitant instead of their master, it is 
probable that the town of Saumiu* would have en- 
joyed the reputation of having a haunted H6tel-de- 
Ville as long as one stone remained upon another. 

The forest of Ratenan, in Westphalia, passed, 
during a whole year, for being haunted by white 
spectres of the gnome or imp description ; who having 
accosted, not only the peasants of the neighboxu-hood, 
but some of the servants of the Count returning 
after nightfall from the neighbouring market, the 

z 2 



340 A WORLD OP WONDERS. 

road through the forest came to be deserted, and 
the greatest consternation prevailed at the Schloss 
von Ratenau. ' 

" On my arriving at the Castle from Berlin to 
spend the summer," said the Count, in relating 
the story, " I found the poor people firmly persuaded 
that a supernatural race of beings had attained 
supreme power over a portion of my estate; and 
it was vain to attempt to argue them into a more 
rational frame of mind. Judge, however, of my 
surprise, when, on returning through the forest, a 
few nights after my arrival, from the house of one 
of my neighbours, the carriage stopped suddenly, 
the horses reared violently; and the postillion, in- 
stead of attempting to keep his saddle, began roar- 
ing aloud, ' The Spirits— The Evil Spirits !' 

" Another minute and the carriage was dashed 
from the road and overturned in a ravine ; nor was it 
without much difficulty that I extricated myself, the 
postillion having already taken to his heels accom- 
panied his fellow servants. I confess to you, that, half 
stunned by the accident, I experienced some uneasi- 
ness at the idea of finding myself alone, at midnight, 
with the object which had produced this fearful 
consternation, whether robber or impostor; nay, I 
will not swear that some of the fantastic tales of 
Schiller and Goethe did not recur to my mind. 

" Great, therefore, was my satisfaction on emerging 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 341 

from the broken vehicle, and perceiving two white 
shapes bounding and gambolling at a distance among 
the hoary trunks of the oak trees, to recognize two 
handsome white grey-hounds, which I afterwards 
ascertained to have strayed from the kennel of the 
Prince Henry of Prussia, and to have subsisted for 
a year on their depredations in the forest of 
Ratenau !" 

Another adventure occurred on the estate of a 
nobleman of the same family, in the Duchy of 
Brunswick. An attempt was made to rob the vil- 
lage church ; the sacramental plate and poor-box 
being found one morning in the nave of the church 
wrapped in a piece of old sacking, so as to give rise 
to an opinion that the thieves must have been 
disturbed in their sacrilegious enterprize. Some time 
afterwards, a gang of burglars having been arrested, 
the judge of the neighbouring town charged them, 
after their conviction of divers other robberies, with 
being accessory to the crirjie in question. 

In a moment, these fellows, who had preserved the 
most hardened audacity, fell on their knees, and 
freely confessed the attempt; adding, that they had 
been prevented carrying off their booty by the 
sudden appearance of the evil one emerging from 
the vestry ; and as far as the uncertain light of their 
dark lantern in that vast area enabled them to judge, 
in the form of a horned monster. 



342 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

A general laugh instantly arose in court ; several 
of the inhabitants of the village in question recog- 
nizing by this description, a tame stag, the pet of 
a former incumbent of the living, which was allowed 
the run of the presbytery orchard and church- 
yard; and which, having most opportunely sought 
shelter in the porch on the night in question, had 
probably followed the robbers into the church, which 
they entered by means of false keys, leaving the 
doors open for their readier escape. 

It is recorded in the Memoirs of one of* the free- 
thinking circle which siurounded Baron d'Holbach, 
in Paris, previous to the Revolution, that having 
retired to bed one night after a gay supper, during 
which this coterie of sceptics amused themselves with 
the most blasphemous conversation, his gay com- 
panions, in order to try his courage, introduced 
into his bed-room a goat, whose fleece had been 
steeped in spirits of wine ; which, when set on fire, 
gave to the unlucky animal an aspect truly hor- 
rific. 

The goat almost equally terrified with its intended 
victim, instantly ran to the bed and attempted to 
extinguish the flames by rubbing itself against the 
bed-clothes, which it set on fire ; and the young 
man, having drunk freely at supper so as to be 
heavily asleep was with difficulty extricated from the 
flames. The goat died of the consequences of this 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 343 

cruel experiment ; and the young man was subject for 
the remainder of his life to epileptic fits. 

Many instances are on record of an equally 
serious termination to these foolish practical jokes. 
Witness the well-known story of the young lady, 
who, after boasting of her intrepidity, had a skeleton 
from a neighbouring surgery brought into her bed- 
room by her brothers and some young friends staying 
in her father's house. On retiring to rest, these 
cruel jesters listened anxiously for the shrieks which 
they hoped would betray her cowardice, and were 
greatly disappointed to find her as self-possessed as she 
had annoimced ; for instead of screaming, she went 
quietly to* bed. But alas ! next morning, when the 
servant entered her room, she was found playing 
with the skeleton, in a state of complete fatuity ! — 

In the southern provinces of France, there prevails 
a superstition, derived probably from the lycanthropy 
of the ancients, that certain persons assume at night 
the form of wolves, and roam the country for prey, 
under the name of loup-garoux ; a fable which gave 
rise to Perrault's charming fairy-tale of Little Red 
Riding Hood. 

In a neighbourhood said to be frequented by one 
of these devastators, who was of course no other 
than a man in wolfs clothing, who, in this assumed 
character pillaged the adjacent farms, a garde cham- 
p^tre or country constable, who had been several 



344 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

times attacked by the supposed monster, contrived 
to lop off his paw with a hatchet ; and, on the 
escape of the loup-garou, found, as he expected, 
that the furry paw contained a human hand ! All 
the labourers of the neighbourhood were accordingly 
visited by the gendarmes to ascertain, by his mutila- 
tion, the identity oi the sheep-stealer. But the 
delinquent had already fled the country; and the 
imputed cause of his flight was confirmed a few 
years afterwards, by his re-appearance in another 
department of France, maimed of his left hand ! 

Sometimes, these loup-garoux are madmen, 
whose insanity has taken this monomaniacal form; 
as in the instance of the vintager near Padua, in 
the sixteenth century, who was apprehended on a 
charge of furiously biting his neighbours on pretence 
of his lycanthropic propensities. When reminded 
that his face was imchanged, while the real loup^ 
garoux have always a wolfish physiognony, he as- 
serted that he was permitted to wear his wolf-skin 
inwards; whereupon the barbarous village tribimal 
by which he was tried, ordered his hands to be 
amputated and skinned, to ascertain the truth of 
the assertion ! 

Inflammation ensued,' and the wretched lunatic 
died of his wounds ! — 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 345 



CHAPTER L. 



APOCRYPHAL ANIMALS. 



The tarantula is a spider about the size of a nut ; 
the head being surmounted by two horns charged 
with venomous matter. It has also antennae which 
become violently agitated at the sight of its prey ; 
with eight legs, and the same number of eyes, 
usually of a grey colour, but occasionally marked 
with livid spots upon a blueish ground. This 
variety is considered the most dangerous. The 
tarantula is hairy in the body, and lies torpid in the 
earth during winter. It revives at the return of 
spring, when the inhabitants of the district wear half 
boots for the protection of their legs. 

In the month of June which is their breeding 
season, their venom acquires more virulence. " The 
part wounded by this animal becomes livid, yellow, 
or black ; and the victim sinks into despondency, 
as in cases of hydrophobia. The following account 



346 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

of the bite of a tarantula is borrowed from the letters 
of the physician St. Andr^. 

A Neapolitan soldier who had been bitten by a 
tarantula, though apparently cured, suffered from an 
annual attack of delirium, after which he used to 
sink into a state of profound melancholy ; his face 
becoming livid, his sight obscure, his power of breath- 
ing checked, accompanied by sighs and heavings. 
Sometimes he fell senseless, and devoid of pulsation ; 
ejecting blood from his nose and mouth, and 
apparently dying. Recourse was had to the influence 
of music; and the patient began to revive at the 
sound, his hands marking the measiu'e, and the feet 
being similarly affected. Suddenly rising and laying 
hold of a bystander, he began to dance with the 
greatest agility during an uninterrupted course 
of four-and-twenty hours. His strength was 
supported by administering to him wine, milk, 
and fresh eggs. If he appeared to relapse; the 
music was repeated, on which he resumed his 
dancing. This unfortunate being used to fall 
prostrate if the music accidentally stopped, and 
imagine that the tarantula had again stung him. 
After a few years he died, in Qne of these annual 
attacks of delirium. 

St. Andr^ is not the only man of science who 
attributes awful effects to the bite of the tarantula. 
Baglini, a man of considerable eminence, maintains 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 347 

that not only the bite causes the patient to dance, 
but that the insect itself is readily excitable by 
music. 

The properties attributed to the tarantula, in 
modem times, are not borne out by the testimony of 
the ancients. Dr. Pinel, in his commentaries upon the 
works of Baglini, a most eminent authority in the 
World of Science, quotes the adverse opinion of 
another man of acknowledged merit, Epiphany- 
Ferdinandi, who declares that many persons of 
his acquaintance had been bitten by tarantulas, 
without experiencing any other inconvenience than 
might have occurred from the sting of a wasp. 
Thus reduced to the class of a venomous spider, 
it becomes stripped of its magic powers as the 
scorpion ceased to be a salamander, when the 
ordeal of burning alcohol was found to be invariably 
fatal. 

The renown of the salamander is, however, of far 
more ancient date than that of the tarantula. 
Aristotle, Pliny, CElian, Nicander, all the illustrious 
apostles of the marvellous, declare that the salamander 
lives in the midst of flames, and exercises such a 
control over them, that one salamander was capable of 
extinguishing the Lemnian forges. In the time of 
Henri II.,' the famous Ambroise Par^, pronounced 
the salamander to be incombustible. Others assert 



348 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

that they have seen salamanders extinguish burning 
embers by emitting a viscous humoiu*, and Benvenuto 
Cellini, in his Memoirs, gives an account of having 
seen a salamander in the midst of his fire. The 
salamander, or rather the newt that bears that name, 
partakes of the lizard and frog, being generaUy fi'om 
five to six inches in length. Naturalists admit two 
kinds, the land and the water salamander. Mauper- 
tius, among many others, submitted both species to 
the test of fire, and the result was the same as with 
any other animal. 

The were-wolves of anticprity, and loup^arau^ of 
the middle ages, disappeared in the open daylight of 
modem science. Virgil confers on Moeris the power 
of transforming himself into a wolf, Yarro Pamponius, 
Mela, Strabo, ascribe the same faculty to various 
individuals skilled in the art of magic. In the annals 
of the early French courts of law, there may be 
found many instances of condemnation for witchcraft 
and transformation into were-wolves for criminal 
purposes; and more than one of these wretched 
victims, probably in a fit of mental aberration, 
pleaded guilty to the accusation. 

In 1521, Pierre Burgot and Michael Verdun, 
confessed before the ParliamjBnt of Besan9on, that 
they had frequently transformed themselves into 
were-wolves, and attacked little girls and boys. Half 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 349 

a century later, the Parliament of Paris condemned to 
the flames Jacques Rollet for having transformed 
himself into a were-wolf, and half devoured a little 
boy. If we can believe the account of Job Pincel, 
Constantinople was so infested with were-wolves, in 
the middle of the sixteenth century, that the Sultan 
went forth with his guard and exterminated one 
hundred and fifty, when the remainder took to flight. 

In a conference of theologians convened by the 
Emperor Sigismund, transformation into were-wolves 
was pronounced a crime, and any assertion to the 
contrary was accounted heresy. 

In the same century, domestic goblins or familiars 
were generally accredited. In the twelfth century, 
a goblin domesticated in a small town of Saxony, 
was known by the name of Cap-a-Point, and a great 
favourite with the inhabitants ; for whom he cleared 
their wood, lit their fires, and turned their spits. He 
was, however, of a vindictive temper ; and a turnspit, 
in one of the kitchens he frequented, having ill- 
used him, he strangled him in the night, cut him 
in pieces, and served him to his master in a ragout. 
The goblin, who saved himself by flight, was anathe- 
matized by the clergy as an evil spirit ; being, in all 
probability, some half idiotic deaf and dumb urchin, 
like Peter the Wild Boy. 

In the thirteenth century, a house in the Rue 
d'Enfer in Paris, subsequently a monastery, was 



350 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

infested by goblins, and in the year 1262, the King 
granted the reverend fathers an exemption from 
taxes, provided they were able to exorcise these 
familiar spirits by their prayers and invocations. 
Among the last on record were those seen by 
Monsieur Berbiginer de Terre Neuve, who lived in 
the Rue Guen^gaud, and left copious Memoirs of 
his contentions with these imaginary beings ! — 

While witches, spirits, and salamanders^ have 
disappeared from the surface of Europe, modem 
Asia appears to have sustained a far greater loss in 
the phcenix, which has ceased to rise from its ashes. 

Many writers, both ancient and modem, have 
minutely described the appearance and habits of this 
fabulous bird ; as though an object of natural history 
rather than of poetical fiction. 

The phoenix may be regarded as an allegorical 
type, like most mythological fables. Among 
the great writers who appear to have believed in 
its actual existence was Tacitus. In the sixth book 
of his Annals, he affirms that the phcenix was 
seen in Egypt under the Consulate of Paulus 
Fabius, and Ludus Vitellius; and that its appear- 
ance gave rise to much discussion among the 
scientific men of Egypt and Greece. . Tacitus adds 
that the periodical return of the phoenix is an incon- 
testable tmth. The scholiast, Solinus, relates the same 
facts ; adding that the phoenix was taken during the 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 351 

last year of the eighth century of the foundation of 
Rome, where it was exhibited to the public gaze. 
The event was recorded in the imperial archives. 

The account given by Tacitus is far more doubtful 
than that of Solinus. The Emperor Claudius 
probably chose that the Romans should see a phoenix 
in a certain bird presented to their admiration ; and 
many a modem sovereign might, by the same means, 
have created.a phoenix. 

The Fathers of the Chiu-ch profess the same con- 
viction as Tacitus and Solinus concerning the phoenix. 
A passage taken from an Epistiie to the Corinthians 
by St. Clement, in speaking of the resurrection of 
mankind, has the following passage : 

" There exists in Arabia, a bird, the only one of its 
kind, which is called the phoenix. After living one 
hundred years, on the eve of death it embalms 
itself; and having collected myrrh, incense, and 
aromatics, forms a funeral pyre for its own obsequies. 
When its flesh is decomposed, a worm is generated, 
which forms and perfects itself from the remains 
into a new phoenix. Having acquired strength to 
take wing, it carries oflf the tomb containing the 
mortal remains of its parent, and carries it from 
Arabia to the city of Heliopolis, in Egypt. Having 
traversed the air, visible to all eyes, it places its 
burthen on the altar of the Sun, and flies away again. 
The priests, by consulting their chronicles, have dis- 



352 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

covered that this phenomenon is repeated every five 
hundred years." 

The description of the phoenix by Solinus is as 
follows : — " This bird is of the size of an eagle ; its 
head embellished with a cone of feathers; its neck 
surrounded with heron-like plumes and dazzling as 
gold. The remainder of the body is of a beautiful 
violet, excepting the tail, which is a mingled rose 
and blue." 

Plutarch speaks of the phoenix with as much 
reverence as if it were an illustrious man. He states 
the brain to be an article of delicacy for the table, 
though he does not mention having tasted it ! The 
fable of the phoenix, which is both graceful and 
ingenious, and has been rendered available by the 
poets of the last two thousand years, was probably 
invented by the priests of Egypt, the first embalmers 
of the dead. Another bird of Axabia — ^the roc, or 
condor, has given rise to a thousand Oriental fables. 
The Bird of Paradise, which was for centuries sup- 
posed to be th6 inhabitant of a higher sphere, so 
rarely was it seen alive, has now been tamed in 
an European aviary at Canton. Let us hope that 
some future menagerie may obtain a specimen of 
the phcenix. 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 353 



CHAPTER LI. 

PROFESSIONS ESTEEMED INFAMOUS. 

In the reign of Louis XVIIL, an oration was 
made in the French Chamber of Deputies, com- 
plaining of the vileness of certain parties employed 
by the police. The Due Decazes, then at the head 
of the administration, replied: "Point out to me 
honest men who would undertake the same functions, 
and I promise to employ them." 

The infamy attached to spies and common infor- 
mers is a wholesome prejudice. In England, the 
nature of our constitution and political institutions 
secxires us from the intrusion of such vermin ; who 
were extensively employed in France by the police 
of the elder Bourbons and of Napoleon. In Austria, 
and, above all, in Russia, no society is secure against 
them; and half the Russian travellers dispersed 
through Europe, even those bearing illustrious names, 
are neither more nor less than spies. The fashionable 

A A 



354 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

watering places of the continent are infested by 
these individuals, most of whom have solicited from 
the Emperor the honourable appointment of travell- 
ing spy. 

A vocation which must always convey infamy, 
and which is more essential to the well-being 
of society, is that of public executioner ; and not- 
withstanding the disgust with which it is contem- 
plated, whenever there occurs a vacancy in the 
office, in any country, a host of solicitors present 
themselves. 

In Russia, which many pretend to consider a 
barbarous country, there is no salaried executioner. 
So infamous is the office considered, that in the 
event of a capital execution, a criminal convicted 
of a less heinous crime undertakes it, and thereby 
gains his pardon. Formerly, in state executions, 
the executioner used to be masked, to secure him 
from the odium attending his calling. 

In some countries, the stage, or rather the pro- 
fession of an actor is an object of violent prejudice. 
In France actors were denied for several centuries 
the rites of Christian burial, and even in the present 
century have been made objects of excommunication. 
England was the first to show a more liberal example, 
by the interment of Garrick in Westminster Abbey, 
and the intermarriage of the nobility with actresses ; 
— a violent and pernicious extreme. During the Con- 



«■ 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 355 

sulate in France, even on occasion of state dinners, 
Mademoiselle Coutat was admitted as the associate 
of Madame Bonaparte, as Talma of the First Consul. 
But on the restoration of the Bourbons, public 
opinion resumed in this particular nearly all its 
former inveteracy. 

In England, the leading members of the profession, 
such as the Kembles, Young, Macready, Charles 
Kean, whose conduct in private life is as exemplary 
as their talents on the stage are distinguished, are 
received in society with the same respect conceded 
to any other order of literary persons. In France, 
this honourable position would be untenable; so 
deeply rooted are the prejudices of the vulgar. A 
clever French writer, who was in his youth an actor, 
relates the following anecdote : — 

" Being once engaged in a company of players in 
a town in the south of France, he devoted the 
leisure of his theatrical duties to literary pursuits, 
A shoe-maker, whom he employed, an ardent admirer 
of the dramatic art, occasionally attempted to engage 
him in conversation; and the actor indulged the 
man's passion for theatricals by presenting him 
with tickets of free admission. At the end of some 
month's acquaintance, the shoemaker entered the 
actor's lodgings one morning in the greatest glee, 
and informed him that it was his daughter's wedding- 
day, and that he was come to invite him to the 

A A 2 



356 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

ceremony. The actor, hesitating to accept the invita- 
tion, made' a variety of polite excuses to his humble 
fiiend, who seized him cordially by the hand. "I 
see how it is/' said he. "You think my friends 
will not like to sit at table with an actor ! But 
never mind. I am not proud, and for my sake 
they will overlook it !" 

The gentlemen of the household of Louis XIV. 
refused to make the King's bed with Molifere, who 
had purchased a small place in the royal household, 
because he had been an actor. This was a just punish- 
ment to one who should have abstained from a position 
so infinitely below his rank in the great scale of 
human nature. Of the individuals thus fastidious, 
the names are imknown to posterity. That of Molifere 
is immortal. 

John Kemble was the occasional guest of the 
Prince Regent, and Mrs. Siddons enjoyed the highes 
distinctions from the highest personages in the 
realm. Still, even in England, among the lower 
classes,, a prejudice prevails against comedians; but 
arising chiefly from the irregularities with whic 
many belonging to the inferior class of the profes- 
sion are unfortunately chargeable. 



r 



A WORLD OF WONDERS* 357 



CHAPTER LII. 

SUPERNATURAL HUMAN BEINGS. 

There is no species of supernatural power to 
which some impostor or other has not pretended ; 
some to incombustibility ; some to insubmergeability ; 
some to invulnerability ; some to invisibility. Men 
have been found who pretend to fly, — to walk upon 
the surface of the waters, — to penetrate, by the 
acuteness of their optics, into the depths of the 
earth. But though an announcement of a balloon, 
a diving-bell, an electrical telegraph, or even a rail- 
road, would have appeared as much a matter of 
empty vaunt to the ancients as these pretensions 
to ourselves, no extent of modem discovery has 
enabled or is likely to enable mankind so thoroughly 
to defy the existing laws of nature. The conforma- 
tion of the human form expressly points out the 
purposes and capabilities for which it was created. 

We read in old books, in proverbial reference to 
human speed, that such a. one ' runs like a man 



358 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

without a spleen ;' and it has been asserted that the 
bearers of the posts of the ancients, had their spleen 
extracted in order to facilitate despatch. 

Even with our present chirurgical proficiency, 
such an operation would be somewhat hazardous. 
But certain it is that dogs from which the spleen has 
been removed in the way of experiment, are observed 
"to grow unnaturally fat, which would be no great 
advantage to a pedestrian. If the operation in ques- 
tion were both harmless and eflfectual, it is deserving 
the consideration of the King of Naples ; who is 
accompanied by running footmen from his palace 
in that city to his country palace of Caserta at 
some leagues' distance; the unfortunate men being 
compelled to keep up on foot with the hard trotting 
of the horses. Not a year passes, but one of these 
victims of royal state drops dead from the exer- 
tion. 

Running footmen constituted a very imposing 
portion of royal and noble equipage in former times, 
when preceding the stately carriages of prelates, drawn 
by mules, or the lumbering coaches and six of the 
days of the Stuarts; when part of their business 
was to forewarn the coachmen of holes in the pave- 
ment, or water-courses in the imperfect roads. But 
the office of running footman in the days of maca- 
damization^ is a work of supererogation. The act 
of barbarity of removing the spleen from such men 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 359 

would not be much more cruel, however, than killing 
them by so terrible an excess of exertion. 

Nothing could be more remarkable than the feats 
of activity performed In France by the coureurs, or 
running-footmen of the nobility prior to the Revo- 
lution, and without any dangerous consequences. 
They were generally Basques, or natives of the 
frontier country of Gascony, proverbially light and 
active. 

In the Landes, adjoining their district, another 
species of activity prevails — the walking or running 
on stilts, necessitated by the sandy nature of the 
soil. A large company of the inhabitants of that 
curious desart, proceeding to market, resembles the 
course of a troop of ostriches, or emus, over the 
Pampas. 

The first aspect of these strangely-mounted men, 
probably gave rise to some of the fictions of our 
early fairy-tales, such as the seven-leagued boots of 
the ogre; just as the Laplanders and Patagonians 
originated races of beings which exaggeration ren- 
dered fabulous. 

The marvels related by the traveller, Mandeville, 
and the more recent wonders described by Mungo 
Park, drew down upon their narrators a charge 
of mendacity, for which we have been forced to 
to make atonement to their memory. How curious 
will be the first book of travels in England, written 
by a New Zealander ! — The author would be sacrificed 



360 A WORLD OF WONDERS. 

by his countrymen, on his return, as a wanton im- 
postor ! 

It is related in French jest-books, that during 
the period of the religious troubles of France, when 
decapitation was so common, a Gascon executioner, 
boasting of his skill, was heard to protest that his 
victims were so artistically despatched as to remain 
unconscious of their execution. He was forced 
to say to them, * have the goodness to shake your 
head !' — ^when it rolled to the ground. In emulation 
of this foolish joke, people used to assert during 
the Reign of Terror, that they were forced to shake 
their heads every morning to be certain that, amid 
the general massacre, they had escaped the guillo- 
tine. A century hence, what with the acceleration 
of motion in every department — the application of 
caoutchouc and bitumen to all sorts of purposes — 
and the general diffusion of chemical science, we 
shall scarcely know whether we are on terra-firma, or 
in the air ; and the reflective powers of the human 
race may chance to become strangely confused by such 
universal motation. 

We may at least anticipate from the same source, 
the obliteration of vulgar errors, and the dissolu- 
tion of popular prejudices. Our successors will have 
no time to cherish such chimeras as omens, pre- 
sages, or presentiments : no leisure for listening to 
old wives' tales, or traditions of ghosts and devils. 

For all classes, education effects the miracle of mak- 



A WORLD OF WONDERS. 361 

ing the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk ; and 
in our Swl, its operations commence at too early an 
age to leave our children at the mercy of ignorant 
nurses — ^the fountain-head of all popular superstition. 

A love of the marvellous is, however, so stl'ongly 
implanted in certain natures, and our capacity is after 
all so finite, that prejudices must ever, to a certain 
extent, prevail. Hypochondriacs, invalids, and preg- 
nant women, will always be susceptible of the terrors 
of superstition ; and so long as children are bom 
with the marks and deformities to which all ani- 
mated nature is liable, so long as the winter wind 
howls, * the owls shriek, and the crickets cry,' ner- 
vous persons will hot be wanting to listen to the 
foolish interpretations of any empty-headed gossip 
at hand. 

To remedy the mischief, it becomes a peremp- 
tory duty to render the rising generation * wise 
virgins' in their youth, in order that they may not 
become foolish old women in their age, to perpetuate 
the evils of popular prejudices and national 

SUPERSTiriONS. 



END. 



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